Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract
by Harmless Orange
Summary: Having just rescued Nepgear from ASIC's grasp, IF and Compa have a chance encounter with 9 odd mercenaries far away from home and asks for help. Hilarity, violence, and hilarious violence ensues... And angst, because why not?
1. Prologue: First Meetings

**Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Prologue: First Meetings**

* * *

"Welcome, lambs, to the slaughter!"

Greeted the Administrator, watching the newest batch of Mann Co.'s own mercenaries from the her comfortable chair. Countless monitors showed every inch of the facility they were tasked to defend. Nothing could avoid her gaze, especially not the gigantic Carrier Tank and the endless horde of machines coming out of it.

Their sole numbers spelled doom for that handful of men, however as stupid they are. She have to give credit for their luck. So far their performance is… sufficient, tolerable.

But sooner or later, they'll fail.

She knows this.

Their employer, Saxton Hale, knows this.

Even their enemy knows this.

But those morons don't know this.

Oblivious to their death, they stand up against the odds and will emerge not victorious, but stomped to death by an army of robots. And when that happens the Re:Spawn System will bring them back, so they die once more.

A vicious circle, a samsara if you can even call it that way, with no reward waiting for them at the end, they won't get even a penny from her. If it's money they want, they'll need to scrape off any dollar they can from those tin cans. Which wasn't a lot to begin with.

But beggars can't be choosers.

After their former employer died by the hands of Gray Mann, they had nowhere to go. None of those degenerates would be accepted by the society, they would be outcasted, exiled, hanged for their crimes.

They would become _desperate._

And when someone becomes desperate, they will take any job just to survive.

The Administrator leaned back and watched, like a queen she observed her paws fight for her.

* * *

"Are you ready, Doctor?" Asked an overweight and bald man, thick russian accent present in his voice. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the mascot of Team Fortress 2, the Heavy Weapons Guy, or just Heavy for short. Now anyone who played the game or even looked at the cover will know how he looks like. But for those who aren't familiar with him, here's his description: A red t-shirt worn underneath black vest and a pair of gray pants. Carrying a big fuck-you minigun he calls 'Sasha'.

Oh and also a pair of black fingerless gloves, because every cool character needs a pair of black fingerless gloves.

In fact why are you, TF2 veterans, are even doing here? Go skip this character introduction and meet other cast of characters on the next scene, right under the horizontal line.

With the question hanging in the air, the russian checked behind him. Kinda expecting a machine to jump on him in some off-chance, but fortunately all he saw was his teammate; a german wearing a lab coat with burgundy pants and a red rubber gloves. You know, a most important class in any game, Medic, wielding his iconic "Medi-gun", which was just a modified fire hose wrapped in a black tape and attached to a bulky backpack. A weird but pretty useful tool.

"Hold on zhere, just a moment." The German answered, aiming his gun upwards and pushing the lever attached to his Medi-gun. The Medi-Gun released its signature red glowing beam, reaching out into a person that stood above them. You wouldn't be far off the mark if you compare him to a construction worked, but this guy doesn't constructing buildings, he constructs… well… um... "Buildings"? Not the ones you would want to live in though…

Anyway, if the team needed some area denial or just their TV fixed, he's the guy they'll look for. Their own Engineer.

"Much obliged, Doc." Engie thanked, his skin emitting some red and transparent crosses. This was known side effect of 'Overhealing' but it wasn't exactly a bad thing… fortunately.

After ensuring that their the texan will live longer, the muzzle of Medi-Gun sparkled. "Now. I am ready." Medic evilly chuckled. Humans or robots, now he can decide who shall be the only one standing.

With everything taken care of, Engineer went back to his Sentry Gun. You don't really want to mess with his thing, as this machine was armed with not 1, but 2 machine guns and a multi-rocket launcher to the boot. And placed next to the death machine, was a chair with small umbrella. It was Engineer's place to relax but this time it was occupied by someone else, a young and lanky boy.

"Scout." His name left Engineer's mouth. Hands on hips and a passive expression on his face.

Scout's eyes opened and zeroed onto the merc. He was matching Scout's gaze with an expecting look and slight shifting of his wrench, coated in gold metal no less. He realized what Engineer wanted, and the silent implication of what will happen if he doesn't oblige.

"Okay… fine." He sighed, standing up and doing some stretches. But Engineer didn't care about that, because his leg resting apparatus was free. The fact that Scout was running away with loud "Woo hoo hoo!" made his mood even better.

So yeah, that's Scout. America, Boston. Wearing dark, baggy pants, red t-shirt and a gym bag. Hard to actually see him because most of the time he stays dead and waiting for Re:Spawn. Nothing special about him, except the fact that he's the fastest out of everyone and is freaking annoying!

With nothing else to do, the young merc decided to bother someone else… like that freak wearing a red fire-retardant suit.

"Hey there mumbles, whatcha doin' there?" Scout tapped them on their shoulder and looked at whatever his teammate was doing. Whatever Scout saw there, it spooked him so much that he immediately thought to find someone else. "Actually, nevermind."

It was so sudden that his teammate, known as Pyro, got confused. What Scout has seen was so horrible that it will haunt his dreams, but in Pyro's twisted mind it was something else. It doesn't exactly have the best mental health you see, instead of the real world, all Pyro sees is its own one twisted reality named "Pyroland", and in that Pyroland all it was doing was just petting a puppy.

This Pyromaniac was a total mystery, no one knows who it is or where it came from, no one even knows its gender. Everyone just refers Pyro as 'it', the Author included as you can see.

Who cares that we're referring to Pyro like an object, it doesn't care.

From afar, someone else saw what Pyro was doing. "That's just a waste of a good coyote…" He commented, zeroing a scope of his rifle using a cactus as a reference.

This person was tall, and also skinny Australian, Sniper. Wearing a vest and red shirt underneath and welding a bolt-action rifle with laser sight and a massive telescopic scope.

He gave an irritated sigh while Pyro was still played with the dead corpse. He could even see its fire axe sticking out of the animal's jaw. Probably he was just looking for food before Pyro found him.

His neck just throbbed, someone is behind him.

"Seems like you were a little too late to catch that pray, don't you agree bushman?" Said a voice behind his back. He immediately recognized this fancy, mocking tone, with just the right amount of frenchness in it. "Piss off, Spy. Go spook somewhere else, we got bloody robots comin', you know."

His call was dead on, as Spy suddenly appeared out of thin air. Wearing that overly-expensive suit and balaclava.

Spy and Sniper, two different and yet so similar professions. Both assassins but one preferred espionage and sabotage, while the other liked precision. Elegant with Sapper and knives, and the savage with Sniper Rifle and good eye.

Sniper's words fell on deaf ears, as Spy simply pointed far away into a distance. "Don't you think this spot is a bit too close for your tastes? How about those bushes few miles away?"

Spy meant that as a mockery, but he didn't know that Sniper already considered that spot. It wouldn't give him a good visual onto the battlefield, but the australian won't give him the satisfaction of knowing this. Instead he'll pretend to not hear him until Spy goes away. They're short on time after all.

And he did, sneaking off like a snake he was.

Silence returned to his post, with his the scope being as prepared as it could. Sniper gave himself a brief moment to relax, a calm heart and steady hands are important in his line of work. He needs to be calm or else he'll miss.

And Sniper never misses, his pride wouldn't allow it.

However, because it would be too boring otherwise, another commotion suddenly arose. But that one thankfully was out of his earshot.

It was between two people, with one of them being wasted on the ground, while the other stood above him, shouting and spitting saliva at wasted man's face. "You black, scottish drunk! I ordered you to be sober and you're disobeying me!? Get your ass up!" The loud man kicked his side, but this black, scottish drunk was in deep, alcohol-infused sleep.

"Just a pitche of muriatic acid and…" Slurred the sleeping man, lying his stomach next to a bottle of scrumpy and a modified grenade launcher. His explosive-resistant suit dug into his gut but he didn't care, he's drunk after all.

Which pissed off the person trying to wake him up even further, grabbing his reddish helmet in anger. "Damn it, Demoman! Get up!" He kicked him again, much harder this time. So hard in fact, that he turned Demoman onto his side.

But at least it worked out, because the scot slowly came to the world of living. "Uwah?" He sluggishly rose his head and noticed the person standing above. "Soldier?" Said Demoman, feeling dizzy from drinking all of that alcohol.

"Who else, maggot?" Soldier snapped, placing his hand on his hip.

Those two were the main generalists and crown control of the team. Soldier from America could handle any job, capable of doing everything his team needs to achieve victory. While Demoman from Scotland had undisputedly the highest burst damage out of the entire team.

"Wake your drunk ass up and sober out! You are so pathetic that robots will pity you instead of shooting!" Yelled Soldier, shifting his shoulder to better carry the weight of his rocket launcher.

Suddenly, a bullet whizzed past him, almost taking out his nose. He forgot about his drunk teammate and snapped his towards the source of fire.

What he saw was a bunch of machines which resembled Scout, almost scaringly so. Like someone took the bostonian and turned him into robot. The entire group was charging towards him and Demoman, but only one of them was equipped with Scout's signature main weapon, a short, double-barreled lever-action shotgun named Scattergun. While the rest of them was armed with aluminium bats, eager to beat their faces in.

Robots.

Robots has arrived.

"What are you lookin at?!"

"Not so tough now are ya? Are ya?!"

"You're a disgrace to the uniform, pal!"

They mocked him with their pre-programmed responses. Their voices was also emulating Scout's, albeit the difference was still clear.

Soldier raised his weapon but someone was faster, a glowing, red spiky ball passed him and landed right in the middle of charging horde.

"It's on! It's on like-!"

Synchronizing with Demoman's loud burp, the ball or rather, the bomb, exploded, creating a rain of metal limbs and money. Soldier turned back towards Demoman, feeling very surprised by scot's speed and accuracy.

But this was just a first group of many...

Giving the Demoman a last heartfelt kick, Soldier joins the fray, shooting rockets left and right towards the invading forces.

* * *

Meanwhile, at a very distant location.

Two girls, having only themselves to rely on, gazed in awe at their frightening surrounding. An entire area, as big as a nation, was decaying and unwelcoming: The dark crimson clouds covered the sun, thunders could be heard and seen in the distance.

The ground allowed no plants to grow, with rivers of the glowing, corrupted, yellow liquid making sure of it. This liquid couldn't be even called water, but rather a thick, dense _poison_. And lastly the mountains of dirt and trash as tall as buildings littered the area. While they offered plenty of hiding places for the pray, they could be also lairs for the predators.

Just by a mere glance you can tell this isn't a welcoming place, no one should ever live here.

"We have finally made it, all the way to the Gamindustri Graveyard!"

One of them announced, feeling a mixture of amazement and anxiety. Her face didn't show it, but she couldn't believe they were actually in the Gamindustri Graveyard. It felt so… surreal, wrong even.

The name of this girl was IF. Yes, just I-F. IN ALL CAPS. She's a Guild member and an veteran adventurer. You know, traveling around the world, learning a wide range of knowledge and skills, having their knees shot with arrows, usual stuff. She's also one of the Main Heroines™.

Her hair was light-brown and reached her waist, with one ponytail sprouting onto a side which was held by leafy green hairpiece. She's wearing a black tank top and shorts underneath an oversized dark-blue coat. The coat have a loose belt where she keeps nine, NINE goddamn phones. Crazy, but their varying colors created a fashionable display in their own right.

She had a sidekick standing next to her… feeling less confident than the brunette.

"Y-Yep, s-so it s-seems." She stuttered, unable to resist the fear as her entire figure shook.

This was Compa. An airhead nurse-in-training that seems to have as much common sense as Soldier, except she was less insane and much friendlier person.

Her hair was in an interesting creamy-pink shade, and her eyes bore the same color. Her white wool sweater was the most eye-catching thing nearby, if only because of her ample bosom. And if you somehow manage to take your eyes of her chest, you will be able to notice that her sleeves were detached, or that she's wearing a red plaid skirt. A very short red plaid skirt.

How she's not flashing her undies is a mystery to everyone...

With the introductions done the plot moves on. Starting with IF not sharing Compa's fears. "I don't get why you're so scared."

"B-But, look at the weird stuff all over the p-place."

With her shaking hands, Compa gestures towards the source of her fears, which was basically everything around. IF shook her head in silent disappointment. Yes, most of those things are weird, some of those things she even sees for the first time in her life...

But nothing here actually looks even slightly intimidating, at least to IF...

If she didn't know any better, she would just say that someone used to dump their trash here. But in reality, this was how the Graveyard really was, mountains of trash from who-knows-where with barely any space to move around, like in a labyrinth.

And deep inside that labyrinth was their objective.

Their conversation came to an abrupt halt, not because of enemy approaching, but because IF's phone called. Or rather something else… as the brunette didn't pull out one of her phones but rather a strange, purple device, resembling closely a PSP console. Or just Lastation's probable console if you really want the Author to go by Hyperdimension Neptunia's lore.

"As its name implies, the Gamindustri Graveyard is where those who have passed go to rest for eternity." Explains a person through this device, known as N-Gear.

Actually, that person looked rather like a fairy, judging by her blue and purple wings. She had dull blue eyes and a curly blonde hair. She wore a purple dress with blue and white tie, and a white cuff. Long white socks and tiny shoes adored her legs.

She's yet another Main Character, Histoire. A sentiment tome fairy which records the history of the world.

And she's also incredibly, adorably _tiny._ You could fit her in a bag or maybe even a pocket.

"Everything you see here were once inhabitants of Gamindustri proper." She added, making Compa even more frightened than before. "O-Oh really…?"

"Tch. You know, this is why I said it'd be okay if you stayed behind." Snaps IF. The brunette could handle this mission very well on her own but Compa also wanted to go too, and Histoire agreed with her. And now the Guild agent is being dragged down. Not that she'll ever say this to Compa, there's just no way she's going to do that.

But she can't help but wonder - If anything happens, will Compa be able to act?

Although, IF's remark had some positive outcome. Compa actually tried to force some confidence into her. "N-No way! I'd never agree to that! I wanna help Nep-Nep and Ge-Ge, and the other CPUs as well!"

Because of her overall look and personality, acting brave just made her cuter... IF tried hard to not chuckle at this, seeing her friend trying to act confident just makes her smile. It was infectious.

"And so do I. Hard to believe they've been missing for three whole years now…" But as quickly as it began, her smile disappears and a heavy sigh took its place. "It's so stupid to make me worry like this…"

"All will be right soon. I am certain they are alive." Histoire reassured. "Even if they are seriously injured, they'll be fine as long as you possess the Sharicite I had prepared for you."

Compa reaches out to her purse and pulls something out, it was a crystal, a small mineral small enough to fit on her palm. It looked beautiful, with its cuby shape, rough, even edges and faces and that deep purple color.

"Sharicite, the crystallized power of the people's faith…" The brunette mumbled, staring at their only hope. All of their hard work was inside this 1 tiny thing. If they lose it, all of that time was wasted. "If that's true then you're right. Okay. Let's hurry back and find our ladies, Compa. We'll carry them all home if we have to!"

They're already at the last steps, they can't fail here.

Compa carefully hid the Sharicite back in her pouch, eagerly nodding to the brunette. "Okey-dokey!"

* * *

The machines were relentless, they kept pushing without fear or break like Russians did in World War 2. Fortunately for Medic, he avoided being sent to any of the fronts back in the day, otherwise the situation would centraily trigger some sort of PTSD.

"Zhis wall is robot death!"

But unluckily for the machines, Medic was one of the more eager mercs to fight, using his newest inventions; an electric shield that blocked all projectiles coming towards him, while allowing his teammates to shoot through it without any problems. It also burns all electronics that are passing through, which doctor was eager to demonstrate by charging head-first into the fray.

Nothing survived the onslaught.

His laugh was drowned by the endless gunfire, his ears rang non-stop, but he didn't care. The sight of literal-killing-machines being dismantled at atomic level brought him sadistic pleasure.

Even the Administrator was entertained. Not by the shootout, but because of the fact that those morons actually outsmarted Gray Mann. They came up with this stupid idea and it actually worked out.

They took this abandoned town near an anthracite coal mine, and then _poorly_ altered it to resemble a Mann Co. Facility. With an extreme emphasis on poorly.

Those idiots are evennamed this place 'Decoy' and Gray Mann still fell for it!

The stupidity runs in Manns' blood. Was how Administrator commented it. Even she can find this situation hilarious, and that's an achievement in itself.

She's actually curious how he would react if he defeated her mercenaries, and then find out that what he destroyed was literally just a Decoy.

But judging by their performance, Gray Mann will need to try harder. As her men just beat another wave of his machines, and were preparing for the next one. It doesn't seems like any money was lost too, a sufficient, greedy performance. "Greed is good. Have a bonus."

She never liked paying them, but praising good performance raises morale.

And it's not like she was losing any money. Those 'bonuses' were stolen by Miss Pauling from their own accounts, so they got was their money back. They have an incentive to work hard, and she doesn't lose anything. Both sides are happy.

Idiots.

With her mercs resetting their defense, the Administrator glanced at a different monitor. The next wave will contain a lot of critically-boosted robots and some giants to boot.

Pure entertainment, watching her nemesis trying to fight a bunch of idiots. _Lucky_ bunch of idiots.

"The robots are here! Protect Mann. Co! _You_ _ **owe**_ _me, Hale."_

* * *

No matter how long they kept searching, lady luck wasn't smiling at IF and Compa today. They snuck around the Gamindustri Graveyard, avoiding all sorts of monsters and trouble, but they still couldn't find anybody. IF in particular was getting fed up with this crap.

"…Jeez, this search is taking forever…"

"Uh-huh… Where do you think everyone could be?"

Wondered Compa, looking around a the nearby area. It appeared to be devoid of any monstrosities, but they couldn't really know for sure.

They were about to move somewhere else, but something stopped the nurse. It was sound, a faint, brief, almost inaudible sound, it could even be just a wind. But by some divine intervention, Compa stops and turns her head towards the source, waiting.

"...Urgh…"

"Yikes!"

The nurse squealed, spooked. She heard it again, much clearer this time.

Someone was there? It could belong to a person. Maybe it was even a captured CPU! Feeling hope, the nurse turned her head towards IF, who was flinching. "Hey come on. What's with the sudden shouting?" The brunette glared at her friend, annoyed that Compa scared her for no reason.

But that didn't matter, the blonde immediately explained what she just heard. "A…A…A… A voice! I heard a moaning voice!"

Hearing this, IF's eyes widened. "You did? Where? What direction did it come from!?" She didn't even care to even keep her voice down anymore, this was a breakthrough in their search. "I think it was that way…"

Compa raises her hand and instantly IF breaks into a sprint, leaving her friend behind. This could be it for them, they waited all this time for this moment.

Moment later, she realized that she was leaving the nurse in the dust. The Guild agent ceases her run, kicking up more dust, and turns around to hurry up her busty partner. "Nice, let's get moving!"

IF didn't bother to wait for an answer, again the brunette just left her behind and ran ahead. "Um, w-wait a minute! Please don't leave me here alone!" The nurse stammered. Compa tried her best to catch up, but her stamina or speed simply didn't allow for her to do that.

At least, she didn't had to run very far. Because a short moment later second, the nurse could hear IF shouting again.

"There, it's Nep!"

Her was voice was full of hopefulness, ecstasy and joy. Her green eyes could finally see them again, after those hard 3 years, she could finally see the CPUs again.

And they looked was horrible.

Hundreds of tentacles, black as moonless night, restrained their limbs, keeping them midair. And the pain on their faces was clear to IF, even a this distance. They hair was disheveled and lost their former shine. They were just a mere shadows of their former, proud selves.

Compa finally caught up and both of them got closer, allowing themselves to stare at one of the captives. It was a beautiful woman, wearing a black skin tight leotard with silver and purple detailing. Her hair was deep purple and split into very long twintails which were at verge of becoming loose. Miraculously, she was still conscious and had her blue eyes focused on both of them.

They knew her, they knew everyone here. This person's name was Neptune, also known as the Purple Heart.

"I-Iffy…? Compa…?"

She murmured with her voice weak from fatigue, it was a struggle just keeping her eyes open. Neptune tried to look at them for a moment longer, but she became weaker with each passing moment, and inevitably she passed out.

IF gave her friend a moment of silence, while Compa points out the other captives. "Ge-Ge is here too! And look, the other CPUs…!" Next to Neptune was her little sister, Nepgear, bearing the title of Purple Sister. (Original, yeah. /sarcasm)

She had a bright, lilac hair, long enough to reach her knees and to be used as a blanket during chilly nights. Like her sister, she also had blue eyes and wore a leotard, but this one was white with purple detailing.

She was the special one of the group, mainly because she is the only one who wasn't a full-fledged CPU. She was a mere candidate, a CPU Candidate.

There were 3 other women behind her, with the furthest one being Black Heart, also known as Noire. She had a pure white hair and teal eyes, and wore something looking like a black bathing suit.

And in front of Noire were the last two goddesses. The closer one was named Blanc or White Heart. She was flat as board and had a messy, light blue hair, with very long strands on the sides of her head. Her eyes were bright red too. No, not her entire eyes, only the irises. Her clothing consisted of a white bathing suit with unattached sleeves, with it's details being painted black and light blue.

And last goddess was definitely the most curvy one, maybe also the oldest one. Maybe. Possibly… Most likely… Her name is Vert, also Green Heart, and fittingly to her name her hair have a green shade which could be only described as sea-foam green. It was very long and kept in ponytail. Her light purple eyes shown visible signs of pain, just like with every other goddess.

Besides being the one with the biggest bust, she was also the most exposed one, wearing a white and green bikini which left the bottom of her breasts exposed for everyone.

"How awful… Who would restrain them like this…?" Compa covers her mouth in shock. The tentacles that were holding them were alive, which was shown by how they tried to capture IF and Compa as well. But they were just out of their reach to do that though, it would be bad and also very embarrassing if they just got captured as well.

"Nep! Snap out of it, wouldja!?" Shouted IF, hoping that she'll get at least some reaction. But after a moment of waiting, Purple Heart said nothing, so were the other goddesses. "It's no good, she's still out cold. Man, what's up with these stupid tentacle things!?" Just a mere sight of them made brunette's stomach to turn from disgust, they were silmy and moved in this disgusting way.

Just their mere presence irked the brunette enough to cut them down, using her weapon of choice; a pair of katars with 1 broad blade in the center, and 2 smaller blades going onto the side. Those should be enough to tear these things apart, but the Guild agent never got a chance to even raise her hand. "Do not attempt to force them free by hand." Histoire interferes, most likely saving girl's life. Before IF could ask why the fairy continued. "Compa, please utilize the Sharicite."

Right away, the nurse got into rummaging through her bag. "R-Right! It's somewhere here in my handy-dandy nurse's pouch…" She tried to find the crystal in question, but suddenly the earth started shaking and something crashed behind them

 **"I won't allow it!"**

It wasn't a good sign. It's never, ever a good sign.

* * *

The next wave was a complete opposite of the previous one.

Even though she expected it, it still left her with distaste.

One. Just one lucky Sentry Buster. And their entire defense crumbles...

The moment it arrived, the Sentry Buster made a beeline for the Sentry Gun. It had a very predictable behavior, so the mercs let their Engineer handle it like always. But as luck would have it, the texan and also Sniper were busy fighting off a bunch of Robo-Spies. With Sentry Gun and Dispenser sapped.

They didn't notice the discharging Sentry Buster before it was too late, nor they survived the explosion.

With 2 of them dead, their Sentry Gun and their main source of munitions destroyed, their defense weakened. And to make matters worse to them, a giant Robo-Heavy with by several Robo-Medics was breaking through its remains, riddling Scout, Pyro and Demoman with bullets. Medic just barely saved Heavy from the iron curtain by deploying another Electro-Shield.

In span of just few seconds, most of them were killed and it was up to Heavy to protect the line. Fortunately, Spy and Soldier destroyed the smaller robots and were now destroying giant's healers.

But the final nail in the coffin was...

"Alert! A tank has entered the area!"

With a loud crash, the planks blocking the mine shaft were destroyed. And out of smoke a heavily armored vehicle slowly emerged. It had tracks instead of wheels and, interestingly enough, no weapons to defend itself, but its armor was thick and very difficult to destroy.

It's presence worked like a time limit, it will slowly proceed towards the bomb hatch and nothing can stop it from achieving that. But at least, the mercs destroyed the giant and the Robo-Medics.

"Not so mighty now, tiny giant." Heavy grinned widely, looking at the destroyed body of his robotic counterpart. The tank was the only thing left they had to take care of. But with half of their team dead it would be a difficult task, especially without Demoman and Pyro, who were the best suited for destroying tanks.

Re:Spawn will take a while and they couldn't afford to wait. Fortunately, Medic has prepared a solution for that.

When everyone opened fire at the approaching vehicle, despite tank shrugging bullets as if they were airsoft balls, Medic ran away.

His legs carried him away from the gunfire, but the german did not run to flee and escape. No, he ran towards Pyro's corpse, where next to it lied a strange device, emitting a red transparent hologram above it, which looked like its silhouette.

Medic dubbed this device The Reanimator, and he's very proud of it.

Coming into range, he wastes to time healing the hologram. The reaction was instantaneous, bits and pieces of Pyromaniac's body slowly hovered towards it, setting themselves inside the projection.

Then a brief red flash of light…

And the most insane human(?) being was brought back to live. "Mhnk nhya mhph." It spoke, giving a thumbs up to Medic for a fine piece of work.

They don't need to wait for Re:Spawn, Medic can simply bring them back himself.

Picking its Flamethrower, Pyro turned its gaze towards the tank. What it saw wasn't an armored vehicle set on destroying them all.

...But rather an ice-cream van.

Within the realm of Pyroland, Pyromaniac skipped to the van, his Rainblower spinning around and spraying rainbows while lollipops, candy canes and other sweets grew nearby. Children around cheered and happily danced as the van slowly rode ahead, playing a cheerful tune in the process.

In reality however, the Pyromaniac skipped towards the tank, his flamethrower blazing and spraying hot flames everywhere. Luckily nothing caught on fire, but nothing could save the ground nearby, the burnt dirt even melted and became glass in few places. Additionally, few mercs even received burns from the roaring flamethrower, but nothing to stop their own fire.

The flames proved themselves to be very good against Gray Mann's tank. The heat weaken its armor, overheat the components and melt the circuits inside. All of that stuff build up until the tank finally slowed its advance and prevented it from turning, but that itself brought a different problem.

Namely the tank is going to crash through the central building, which was an important part of their defense.

As Pyro and others tried to stop that tank, Medic got himself busy with reviving the rest of the team. Scout being Scout, has already Re:Spawned by himself, so he doesn't need his help. Instead, the doctor revived the Demolition Expert. "What did I miss?" The scot asked as he picked up his Stickybomb Launcher.

"Zhe tank arrived, go destroy it!" Medic ordered, switching his beam to resurrect Engineer. The team was probably started to ran out of ammunition, so setting up a dispenser would be a nice thing to do.

* * *

 **"I won't allow it!"**

IF stared in awe as the newcomer covers them entirely in its shadow, it was a machine, as tall as an Ancient Dragon. It had a black armor with neon blue lining, and adoring it were silver accessories. Its weapon, a combination of double edged axe and a spear, was proudly held in its right hand, similarly to its armor the edges and spike were neon blue, with everything else being a metallic black and silver. It also had wings hovering behind him, made out of the same material and looking as sharp as the weapon itself.

It was hovering above the ground, which made IF curious on what caused this earthquake. At the same time Compa fell with a loud "Kyaaaah" onto her knee.

"Who are you!? You'd better not get in our way!" IF demands as she points her weapon at the threat.

"For someone to be insane enough travel here… inconceivable!" The gigantic mech roared. Its or perhaps, HIS voice sounded very impatient, at least it sounds like a male... "Three long years… I've remained idle for too damn long. It's finally time to destroy…!" Without any reason, he braced himself to fight.

"I don't get his problem, but we've got a fight on our hands. I'll handle him, so go save the CPUs, Compa!" IF turned her head towards Compa, who was picking herself from the ground. No need to worry, all she needs to do is to just buy time without dying. May the Delphinus watch over her.

However Compa wasn't as psyched as her brunette friend was, but at least she didn't need to face the towering robot flying above the ground and wielding a gigantics axe. That alone gave allowed her to acknowledge IF's words with "Y-You betcha!" and let her take him on.

Giving the Nurse a goodbye-thumbs-up, the Guild agent dashed towards the machine.

The battle started with the machine spinning his weapon above his head, and then slamming it where IF was, the attack missed as the Guild agent rolled over her shoulder to avoid her death.

Hitting nothing but air, the blade was stuck deeply in the ground. The robot struggled to get it out which made IF realize that he seemed to favor strength over accuracy.

His mistake granted IF a perfect opportunity for counterattack. She attacked his arm with the downward slash, but her blades didn't left even a scratch. She attacked again but got the same lack of results…

IF jumped back when her opponent finally pulls out his axe. She narrowly escaped his stab, but the blade still left a scratch on her cheek as a parting gift. Then the machine tried to sweep her with axe's handle and the brunette somersaulted above it.

His attacks were fast and strong, but they were predictable and inaccurate. It was easy for her to dodge them.

The titan was getting pissed, none of his strikes could hit because of her superior agility, which sent him into anger-fueled frenzy. "Gaaaah! Stand still, damn it!" He yelled, but all he got was a smirk to appear on IF's face as she swiftly avoids another one of his swings. If he continued to focus on her, then Compa can revive the goddesses without any problems. Then they can destroy this him and they can leave this place. She just need to keep this up.

The robot grabbed the end of his axe with both hands, right near the counterweight to get the maximum range. Then he spun around and 'round and charged at the girl. She weighed her chances...

He was moving too fast for her to run, and that attack was too dangerous to risk jumping over it. She can't go to sides, ran away or jump away…

Then she shall simply avoid _downwards_.

The Guild agent waited and waited with anticipation, for that one perfect moment. Her soon-to-be executioner fearlessly charged forward, like an enraged bull he didn't expect a thing from her. She only had one chance to do this or else she'll go back to Planeptune in pieces.

"Now or never!" The Guild agent makes a short sprint and slides below the robot, less than second later the spinning axe passed where her neck was. IF 'hugged' the ground as much as she could, letting machine's attack pass overhead her.

But then the machine suddenly stops with a loud "Aha!" He knew she'll make such a move and prepared accordingly. Now the robot had her right where he wanted.

As the axe nears the ground, IF could have sworn she has seen her life before her eyes.

But the weapon didn't strike her, it struck the ground _centimeters away_ from her. The machine seemed to miscalculate the trajectory and got his weapon again embedded deeping in the ground, cutting only few strands of IF's hair.

The brunette never got up so quickly before. She used this mistake to safely put some distance and check herself for injuries, her head hurt a bit, and she could see the few familiar brown hair… Putting two and two together made IF furious, and her opponent's guard was fully open. Perfect.

Tapping into her SP, IF slashed the air multiple times. Each strike sent a rain of magical icicles to pelt robot's armor. "I will send you _personally_ to your grave!" She yelled, her anger so thick that it's even visible. Like, seriously, her katars were literally glowing from her anger!

And with that pair of powered up weapons, the Guild agent charged headfirst towards her enemy, dead set on unleashing the ultimate punishment on the vile thing that dared to cut off her hair!

 **"Gyaaaaah!"**

That was her plan, but the reality begged to differ… as IF's ultimate move came to an anti-climactic end. With her enemy, completely unscratched the Author might add, swinging his fist at her. Caught completely off-guard, IF soared through the air towards Compa and the CPU's.

* * *

Fifteen feet away from the building, Tank's tracks and armor began to glow from heat, the flamethrower and as well the hot weather were taking their toll on the metal. Demoman just emptied another magazine of his sticky launcher and began loading the next one.

Thirteen feet left and Engineer finished rebuilding his Sentry Gun, the automated defender immediately opened fire with its zero-point-five caliber machine guns and the rocket launcher. Scout collected whatever money was left on the ground and raced back to help out.

Eleven feet and Heavy Weapons Gun ran out of ammunition, Scout replaced him but his Scattergun couldn't even slightly makeup for the lack of minigun's fire. In a last ditch attempt Sniper tried to stick his kukri in Tank's track, but the machete snapped in half without offering any resistance.

Nine feet. Another Sentry Buster has appeared, forcing Engineer to grab his Sentry Gun and run away. Just like Heavy, Soldier also ran out of rockets to shoot and there were no signs of tank taking any heavy damage. Only whole load of small dents and black soot.

At seven feet mark even Spy had enough, he dropped his cloak and joined with his revolver blazing. Engineer came back as well, with his Sentry over his shoulder and the Sentry Buster harmlessly exploding in the background. Heavy and Soldier replenished their supplies and resumed fire onto the vehicle.

Five feet and Pyro's flamethrower abruptly stops, surprising Pyro with its sudden lack of ammo. Bigger cracks finally starts to appear on the tank, acting as an encouragement to fire even more lead its way.

When only three feet separated the tank from the building, everyone backed off to a remotely safe distance. Pyro even waved it goodbye as it happily skipped away, completely unbothered by everyone's gunfire.

And when there was only one foot left...

…

…

…

…

…

"You've beaten them back. For the _moment_."

The Administrator's words marked the end of today's assault. There were no more robots coming out of the Carrier Tank and that monstrous tin can was slowly closing its hatch and returning home, leaving the mercenaries alone and in peace.

The Administrator made some mental notes about this victory and planned her next move, at the same time Medic, Engineer and Sniper simultaneously released a huge sighs of relief.

It's over…

At least for today.

* * *

Away from the fight, Compa tried to use the Sharicite on the unconscious CPUs. "Please…" She plead, shifting the Sharicite a little closer to the captives. Iffy was doing her best to protect her and the Goddesses, she couldn't mess this up and let her down.

The Nurse was leaning in so far that she was at a risk of losing balance her and falling into the pool of tentacles, who were so close that Compa could feel their tips tingling her arms. She was but a mere inches of getting pulled into her doom, and yet the crystal still doesn't show any changes. "Please wake up!" She plead once more. She was so close, just a little more… Maybe she needs to be a little close-YES!

Out of the sudden, the crystal emitted a warm, purple light, charming Compa in its beauty. The light also seemed to scare the tentacles away, as instead of trying to pull the nurse in, the cables were trying to get as far as possible from her.

"Ah… Urrgh…"

In addition, the captives were emitting their own bluish glow, just like the Sharicite itself. Compa couldn't be happier about it, it filled the nurse with enough bravery to take a step forward.

Step by step, Compa got closer to the goddesses and the tentacles, even though they were scared of light, remained vigilant. They waited for any opportunity to strike, but they did nothing else though.

The eyes of the CPUs stirred, like they were being woken from sleep. The hold that the tentacles had on them also loosened, which motivated the nurse to walk little faster.

"Ah… Urrgh…" Muttered one of them, Nepgear that was, and she finally opened her eyes. The CPU Candidate felt her consciousness coming back, but she was still sleepy. Like being woken up by an alarm clock at monday's morning.

Compa noticed that the tentacles were all but gone from her, so the nurse dared to pull her into her safety bubble. "Ge-Ge! Are you back with us?"

It took about 2 seconds for Nepgear's dazed grogged mind to fully register what was happening, but when it did, shock and confusion swiftly overrode her tiredness. "Compa…? I… I… was…" Her eyes widened. Questions like 'what is she doing here?' 'Why am I hugged?' 'Why is _Compa_ of all people hugging her in a place like this!?' filled her mind.

But those questions had to wait as the very-relieved-and-happy nurse bear-hugged the CPU Candidate with all her might, which was surprisingly a lot. "I'm so happy you're alive!" She a small tear leaked from her eye, but that was a happy tear. After all so long, she can finally hug her missing friend.

Meanwhile, The CPU Candidate was too dumbfounded to resist Nurse's affection, just seeing Compa all but fried the lilac-haired girl's thinking process. Similarly, Compa was too happy to remember what she was supposed to do, which was to rescue _all_ of the missing CPUs.

But then, as if guided by the Author, her brain remember that small detail. Breaking the hug, Compa gave the brightest smile she could manage.

"Let me get the other CPUs up too…"

"Gaaaaah!"

Before she could even take another step forward, IF crashed near them with painful thud. The machine has shown a great accuracy or luck to punch her precisely into the safe area, if the brunette landed mere few centimeters to either side, she would land right into tentacle's 'hands'.

In a way the way she landing could be called comical, not to mention painful.

"Weak! So pathetically weak! C'mon, make the fight more interesting for me! C'mon!" The machine taunted. No imperfection tainted his armor, his own body. Nothing IF did to him had any effect, even her EXE-Drive was proven to be useless against it.

The lilac haired girl's gaze froze on the brunette. Her disheveled, uneven hair was the first detail she noticed, with her dirtied and crumpled blue coat being the second one.

She was an another person she recognized, which intensified her shock. "IF!?" Nepgear yelped, not knowing what else she was supposed to do or say. 'W-What is she and Compa doing here? Who hurt her? Where's Histoire? What is going on!?' Her panicking mind screamed for answer, but she had none to give.

Her landing was hard and it made a number on her back, even tender strokes failed to give even a slight relief. But even in pain, IF couldn't possibly miss that voice. After all, the distance between them didn't even reach 2 meters, her green eyes gave a quick glance and confirmed it. Gear was free and was frozen in shock right next to her.

"Gear!? Heh… Well, now I feel stupid that you got to see me in such a sorry state." The Guild agent gave the CPU Candidate an awkward mock salute. The fact that IF wasn't thrashing around, screaming meant she thankfully didn't break anything.

As if turned off by a switch, her awkward expression fell and was replaced with full seriousness. IF looked back at the hovering titan, who seems to let them have their talk in peace. "Be careful. This creep is freakishly strong." She warned.

Because of everything that happened, which was a lot to take in for Nepgear, the CPU Candidate failed to notice a goddamn giant with bloodthirstiness so thick he was basically emitting it.

Is this the ' _creep'_ that IF spoke of? Why is he here? What is he doing? Can she dismantle him? Is he an ally? Foe? No, he's obviously a foe, he attacked IF.

They have to _fight_ this thing!?

The mere mention of fighting someone as tall as house threw the CPU Candidate into panic. Her legs froze to the ground, her weapon, a mix of a sword and a gun, a Gunblade, nearly fell from her shaky grip. Her entire figure was uncontrollably shaking.

They can't do it, she can't do it, there's no way she can win against him.

"Let me help out, too! We have to buy some time so everyone can wake up and regain their strength!" Nepgear stared at the Nurse wide-eyed. Even in the face of certain death, Compa shown nothing but pure confidence. She believed that they can win this, she believed that they can rescue all other CPUs.

How!?

With her weapon in hand, an oversized syringe full of questionable liquid. Compa and IF charged together, leaving Nepgear alone to watch them with amazement… Or rather, as if she saw someone crazy.

They were just humans, how can they be so convicted that they can win? Just by looking at him she can say that he's above them!

And yet…

They didn't stop.

The machine brings his axe down and the girls split, IF rolled to the right while Compa dodged to the left. For the third time today, the robot's axe got stuck deep in the ground and the girls persistently attacked his hands with their weapons. They stabbed, slashed, punched and kicked but nothing worked, nothing was leaving even a tinies mark on his forearms. In it's own right, it was an amusing sight to watch.

But even so they still attacked.

Even when being outmatched, they were still fighting. Hell, this robot doesn't even look like he was taking this fight seriously!

But seeing their friends acting more bravely than she was… it was embarrassing. She's the CPU Candidate, she was supposed to protect _them_ , not vice versa.

"I…"

Should she do it…? Yes, she definitely should.

But _can_ she do it…?

Can she accomplish what she failed to accomplish earlier?

"I'll fight, too!"

There was no other choice.

Tightening her grip on her Gunblade, Nepgear charged.

* * *

"Huh? What the-!"

The CPU Candidate has struck the giant before he could finish his sentence, behind that blow was enough force to the entire titan flying. Before anyone could react, she fired multiple shots towards his flying form, with each bullet hitting his body with perfect accuracy and sending him even higher. The titan was basically juggled like a ball.

As a finisher, the CPU Candidate charged up a giant-fuck-you laser and then fired it straight at him. The collision of the beam and the titan resulted in a gigantic explosion. Once the sky was clear, IF and Compa could see the robot crashing down with a trail of smoke.

They had no words to describe it. It was just… wow.

With the deed done and the threat removed, the CPU Candidate slowly faced her friends. "..." Both of them were saying nothing, they simply stared at Nepgear with their jaws on the ground. The awkward and lingering silence left the lilac-haired Candidate feeling rather embarrassed… "Um…? Ehehehe…"

Her feet felt the force of the robot's mighty body hitting the ground, threatening to tumble her. Her ears heard the loud sound of him crashing with the earth, it was painful to her ears but also so satisfying. Her eyes saw pieces of hardware and other trash rolling or falling into her vision.

She did it!

She defeated him!

They're safe!

Woohoo!

Nepgear would be lying if she said that she wasn't feeling proud right now. The CPU Candidate, the weakest of CPUs, has defeated this guardian with just her EXE-Drive. All on her own.

Who wouldn't feel proud of this!?

And why is Compa looking up?

Or why is IF pointing behind her?

...

...He's right behind her, still alive, isn't he?

"B-Behind you."

Confirming her worst fears, IF spoke with a weak, frightened tone.

Bracing herself, Nepgear turns around and...

...Her short burst of confidence shatters apart in an instant.

Surrounded by mountains of trash was the same enemy Nepgear has just cut down, perfectly fine, perfectly beautiful, not even a scratch ruined his black armor.

"That's it? Really? Is that seriously all the strength you possess!?"

He said that as he swept some of more trash off his shoulder.

Meanwhile his opponents were at the verge of panicking, if they weren't already.

"We're not affecting him at all… Compa, aren't Nep and the others coming to yet!?"

"Um… I don't think they're gonna be waking up soon…"

Compa grimly answered as she checked the Sharicite. Moments after Nepgear used her ultimate attack, the crystal stopped shining as brightly as before, and the glow coming from CPUs ceased altogether.

"Perhaps the Sharicite was not pure enough to awaken the CPUs proper, only…" Histoire explained, feeling guilt for this grave miscalculation. She knew this wouldn't be enough and yet she still sent them away. The fairy wanted to say more, but IF stopped her before she could do so.

"You serious!? Then… there's nothing else we can do here!"

Nepgear was already at the verge of crying. "Again… I'm going to lose again…" Due to her own incompetence, she failed to make a difference, again. "N-No, no no no…"

And just like the last time, she'll suffer consequences for it.

"This was just a waste of my time! I'll finish you off right now!" With his axe in hand, their executioner left the pile, getting ready to unleash the ultimate punishment. At the same time, the lilac-haired girl was slowly succumbing to her own despair.

"No! I…I'm completely powerless…"

* * *

The unsuccessful invasion of the Decoy left the streets littered with blood, oil, bullet shells and corpses, metallic ones of course.

With nothing left to fight for today, the team returned the run-down shack where they set-up the Re:Spawn system. They were tired but there were plans to be made and wounds to be licked, not literally of course, that would be gross. But even so they had to quickly pack up and get to their next destination.

A young woman was already there, looking through the various maps of the area. Among the red-clothed mercenaries, her purple office dress stood up, with her black, transparent tights and black boots adoring her legs. This ladies and gentleman was Miss Pauling, the Administrator's right hand and a woman to be feared.

She swept away the annoying strand of her raven hair and raised her gaze towards the mercs, her brows couldn't be even more furrowed than they already are. "This is bad, guys." She summarized their situation with this simple sentence.

"Is that so?" Spy raised his eyebrow.

"Apparently Gray Mann will attack the Coal Town next. But-" She took time to adjust her glasses, looking at the frenchie with her green eyes. "-He left even more robots patrolling the streets than usually. We don't have time to fight every patrol, nor we could afford the possible casualties while on the move."

"Now yer just underestimating us." Sniper pointed out, a preparing himself a cup of coffee and taking a piece of his bread ration.

To this day, Sniper still can't understand why Mann Co. only cans one slice of bread and not the whole thing. That's just wasteful.

The Australian's words were ignored however, with Scout voicing his own idea from the floor in the corner. "Can we just take a train like we always did?"

"Zhat isn't possible, Scout." Medic quickly rejects it. "Three dayz ago, zhe last train going to Mann Co. got attacked by zhe robots. Ve vould just make zhe history repeat itself."

"Cars?" Scout shrugged. "I mean Snipes' van can take some of us, right?" Scout retorted, looking at the dining Australian. His van could possibly take 3 or 4 of them, that would be enough to slow down bots for the rest of them to catch up, but then one small detail occurred in his mind. "Actually, nevermind. Snipes' van prolly stinks full off pee-pee."

"Still bad idea, Scout. And not because of Sniper's van." Miss Pauling also rejected his plan. "The cars are too slow and there are Gray Mann's robots patrolling the road, they would shoot you like a fish in a barrel."

"How 'bout we use my experiment?" Engineer raised his hand, which caught Miss Pauling's attention. "That new teleporter, it's finished?"

"Yup. It should be fine to use right now, I tested it before and it worked fine."

"Then why didn't you say so before!" Miss Pauling threw her hands in the air, visibly pissed at Engie for keeping this information to himself. "That's what we seriously needed right now! Speak up earlier, next time!"

Defending the facilities was the easiest part, the mercs are handling it well so far. After losing enough ground, the robots had hard time pushing through the rest of their defenses, which resulted in a Gravel War-like stalemate.

Knowing where Gray Mann's next target is a bit tricker, but with the Administrator they should be able to handle it. Her connections and the bugs hidden are enough to know where and who will be sent.

The hardest part is getting there before the Carrier Tank. Trains are an obvious no, too easy to ambush and losses are always severe. Cars were too slow and the planes can't land everywhere.

But with Engineer's new teleporter, they'll have a chance…

"Sorry, sorry ma'am." The texan raises his hands in mock surrender. "But I reckon I'll be able to get it working today. Might need some help collectin' parts though."

"Right. Heavy, go help out Engineer. Rest of you guys, pack up. I want everything to be ready as quickly as possible." She clapped her hands as she gave out orders. It was a common sight, Miss Pauling orchestrating their work and priorities, and the mercenaries grunting in response and obeying diligently.

The ravenette will need to question Engineer more on that thing he's creating, that could be their trump card in this war.

Her ears caught the sound of quiet snores, Demoman was peacefully sleeping next to the doors, which irked Miss Pauling. But then that was changed into surprise once Spy took a glass of water, and poured it on Demo's face.

The drunk people always have the best reactions, don't they?

* * *

She doesn't want to die…

She truly doesn't want to die…

Not like this…

Their soon-to-be executioner got closer with each moment, and with him their death also neared. He moved slowly, so agonizingly slowly, as if savoring this moment. The, once brave, Guild agent and Nurse were now shaking in fear. Time has seemed to slow down as the distressed Nepgear tried to find a way out from this predicament.

But, is there any?

They were truly concerned. Behind and on their sides were piles of trash blocking the way, too tall for them to attempt climb with this machine chasing them, Nepgear wasn't confident that she could fly over them even on her own, as the EXE-Drive left her exhausted. Even now, the fatigue tried to overtake her, but the adrenaline was still in full effect.

If she faints now, it's game over for all of them. She, IF and Compa will surely die here.

She doesn't want any of them to die...

The only way for every of them to survive, is to take the path in front of them. The one that is guarded by the giant.

Using brute force was impossible, nothing even scratched his armor…

If they could do at least somehow immobilize him. Paralyze, stun, seal, _anything_ , if they could distract him they could make a run for it.

W-Wait. That's it!

"Wait, if I use what's left of the Sharicite's power…" A seed of an idea formed inside her head, it was a small and risky, but at this point anything would work. Her blue eyes took a glance at the Sharicite Compa was holding, it still possessed some of the Share energy. All she needs to do is just steal it.

But… will it be enough? It looks very weak, it may even not work at all.

Please…

Please work...

"Please be enough…!" Mumbling a prayer, the CPU Candidate tackles the nurse. The sudden movement caught machine's attention, which made him accelerate. At the same time, Compa yelped in surprise when Nepgear's body suddenly crashed into her. The lilac-haired girl clumsily took the Sharicite from Compa's palm, and then ran towards the machine, leaving the confused nurse on the ground.

Filling the crystal with her own power, Nepgear hurled it above the titan. Luckily, the robot has bit the bait and raised his head, IF and Compa did it too. All three of them were unaware of Nepgear's plan, or that she was covering her eyes and muttering "Come On."

A flash of white and a shriek pierced the air.

"Agggghhhh! The light! My eyes, my eyes, my eyes…!"

The machine's screams acted as a cue for Nepgear to act, she snatched her blind friends' arms and guided them to safety. Hey eyelids were growing heavy but she beared with it, her duty as a CPU Candidate had the highest priority, she had to keep them safe.

The titan swung his axe, his lack of vision completely his accuracy. Piles of junk were knocked by his trashing which then littered the area around, Compa even tripped on them but Nepgear quickly help her get up.

They blinded him, they took away his ability to enjoy their fear. They will pay! This was unforgivable! He will rip out their eyes so they'll be blind like him right now, except forever! The robot vowed to get a bloody revenge for this insult towards him. But right now all he could do, was to swing his axe with hopes of hitting anything fleshy. Which he didn't.

By the time girls' vision fully returned, they were away from where the CPUs were captured. They were hidden inside a small cavity made out of old tires, completely hidden from sight. Nepgear has found them a temporary sanctuary to hide and bide their time until it was safe to leave.

"It… worked?" Spoke IF, blinking rapidly to get the spots out of her vision. Once her vision was clear, the brunette looked around and found her savior, a heavily-panting-feeling-sleepy lilac-haired girl. "Nice thinking, Gear!" IF praised, but the CPU Candidate was sooo tired to care. It was a struggle just to keep her eyes open.

Compa had similar thoughts like IF, but the state of Ge-Ge concerned her.

"Was it enough…? Ugh…" Leaving this question hanging in the air, Nepgear closed her eyes and again went back to the deep slumber. She fell, but Compa caught her before she hit anything. "Huh? Ge-Ge!? Th-This is no time to pass out again!"

The only answer she got was CPU Candidate's body being engulfed in light, it covered her entirely and it passed as quickly as it appeared.

The person who Compa was now carrying was different-yet-similar-looking girl. She had a less brighter and bit shorter hair than her predecessor, purple eyes and an outfit resembling a school uniform, consisting of a white jacket-dress with purple lining.

"What? What happened? Did she seriously lose consciousness now, of all times!?" IF groaned loudly but quickly shut her mouth.

She can hear him, he was close.

 _Very_ close.

"Unforgivable! You'll never escape! Once my retinal system come back online, I'll kill you all!" The earth violently shook and IF could hear something crash nearby, he was unbelievably close to their hideout. Maybe even right above them.

But they found out his weakness to remember for later, IF needs to make a mental note to take flashbangs in case they encounter him ever again.

Suddenly, Histoire spoke through the N-Gear, making IF almost curse out loud at her horrible timing. "The time has come to withdraw. Nothing more can be done now." At least the fairy had enough tact to make her voice as quiet, and she also raised a good point.

It's hard to admit it, but they were horribly unprepared for this kind of mission. Their Sharicite has saved only 1 out of 5 goddesses, they had no information about someone guarding the captured CPUs, and the girls had no countermeasures or even Plan B.

It's honestly a miracle that they even saved anybody.

"You heard her, Compa! Let's hurry up and get Gear out of this place!" IF peeked out of their hideout. On her left she could see the CPU Guardian running havoc on a pile of trash, but judging by his words, he was still blind. Maybe if they moved fast enough they could get away from him before his vision came back online.

* * *

After taking like… nineteen, maybe twenty alien parts from Robo-Engineers, Heavy began to wonder what kind of building their Engineer was creating. The texan ignored everything else but the Robo-Engineers, even scrap metal didn't catch his attention. Which was amazing on its own, the tiny man built everything out of scrap.

"Alright, that outta do it." Engineer said, throwing yet another mysterious part onto the pile that Heavy was carrying. Their weight wasn't any problem for the Russian, but when he had to hold so many of those itty-bitty things, it's a wonder none of them are slipping through his arms.

"What are those, Engineer?" Heavy asked. Looking at the small green circuits he's carrying.

"Those are Teleportation Cards. It's those that make Robo-Engies teleport anywhere, we're gonna use their tech against 'em."

Heavy once again looked at the small circuit boards. Those tiny things are why Robo-Engies are constant problem on the battlefield? Heavy wouldn't be able to guess, he always thought that they had a teleporter built somewhere. But now it all makes sense.

The texan led his temporary assistant to his workshop, a shack built away from the road and the main robot's route. Because of that it was far less affected by the invasion than the ones they used in their defense.

They could see Miss Pauling standing there, looking through one of the windows. "Curious?" Engineer asked, amused by her attempt to be sneaky.

The assistant jumped in fright and faced the mercenary. "Gosh darn, Engie!" She held her chest and tried to calm down her beating heart. The source of her momentary fright had to actively hold himself from laughing out loud, opting to let Heavy in so Miss Pauling won't see his face. "Alright partner, place 'em near the Control Point, would ya? Just watch for cables, don't trip on them."

Heavy acknowledged his words with a silent nod and entered the building. Being a curious and a bold person, Miss Pauling peeked through the opened doors. Her eyes widened once she saw it.

In the center of the room was a Control Point, even surrounded by the yellow-and-black striped tape that the assistant often saw on the battlefields. Surrounding it were many strange metal cylinders, each of them about only slightly bigger than Demoman's pipe grenades. Each of those was connected to a dispenser of varying levels standing next to a wall with a thick black cable. For what purpose, only Engineer could know.

Protecting the cylinders and the Capture Point was Mann Co.-made bulletproof glass, creating a chamber with a hole as an entrance. It had no ceiling, and there was a huge raygun above the entire construction, aimed at the centre of the Control Point.

"And _that_ is your new teleporter?" She asked, motioning towards the crude structure in front of her. There were more than few things that she needed to ask about it, like how did he get a Control Point here? Those things were strictly guarded by both Redmond and Blutarch. There's no way either of them would give out such an important object.

Did the Administrator pulled some strings without telling her?

"Yup. It can transport everything at once, no exit needed. Y'all need to do is just put whatcha want moved into the chamber, put in some coordinates and you're good to go."

"I see…" This was the means of fast transport they needed. If this works like he said, then they'll gain a significant edge against Gray Mann. They'll be able to instantly transport mercs anywhere they want, with no warning. Hell, with that they could even make an assault on Gray Gravel's HQ and end this war right here and now.

But how he got the Control Point… Those were built to remotely control the facilities. You can control doors, signs, and even the local Re:Spawn System!

Who would give him such a dangerous device? Why he's even using it?

There were many questions surrounding the teleporter, but before she had a chance to ask anything Medic gave an announcement through the speakers.

"Ahem. I instruct everyone, except herr Engineer und Miss Pauling, to report to zhe Medical Bay. Zhis is time for zhe usual check up."

* * *

The Medical Bay was a special place. Unlike anything else, it was located _under_ the ground. You had to enter the 'Mann Co Hatch of Great Importance' to reach the lobby.

It wasn't anything impressive, just few plastic chairs, a ticket dispenser, "Now Serving" sign and a some blast doors. You know, nothing special. The walls and ceiling were pained red, grey and white like in the Process base.

This was where Medic is conducting his questionable experiments. Experiments which were approved, and even encouraged by the Administrator and Mann Co's CEO. They even gave him few 'volunteers' and endangered animals to work on. His results were pretty amazing.

"How are you feeling today, herr Soldier?" Medic asked, stripped off his lab coat and gloves.

"I am feeling good, doc! Kinda scared though!" Soldier answered. He was shirtless and restrained but still in a great mood, the presence of many sharp things and his limited movement also sent 'DANGER!' alerts to his brain, but German's not-so-believable assurance calmed him down. "Oh ho ho! Don't vorry… You're in good hands."

Were it anyone else, Medic's smirk would have a completely opposite effect. But this was Soldier so… he believed it. He still have his helmet to reassure him that everything is going to be alright.

Armed with scalpel, Medic attached his Medi-gun to the ceiling and turned it on. This'll make sure that Soldier won't actually die while Medic played the real-life-version of Surgeon Simulator, complete with needlessly ripping out all organs out of Soldier's body.

First cuts posed no problem, getting into Soldier's cavity was as easy as stealing an unguarded intelligence briefcase.

"Zhe bleeding is minimal und I can't see any inflammation anyvhere. Zhe Nano-Machines seems to be vorking fine." The german mumbled to himself, scanning the innards of american's body.

This was a foundation of the bionic enhancements that Medic helped to invent. The Nano-Machines improved blood efficiency, making the cells capable of carrying more oxygen to the muscles which in turn improved stamina, regeneration, strength and vitality. They also stop the blood from leaking out by acting like an improved platelets and physically stopping the bleeding.

But most importantly, they collect information about the person, his physical and even mental status is recorded and then sent to the designated implant. For an unknown reason, they also greatly reduces the damage taken from long falls. No one is sure why, they weren't designed for that.

"Doc, I'm in a immerse pain right now." Soldier informed, but despite the context of his words, his tone betrayed no emotion. He said that as casually as person could, if not a little bit rushed.

"Oh, don't cry, okay? Zhis all going to be fine." Reassured Medic. Without hesitation he shoved his hand right under Soldier's lungs. Getting an immediate reaction from the patient. "It's hard to breathe…" But merc's complaint fell on deaf ears. Soldier struggled to draw even the slightest breath to no avail, he just couldn't, whatever his surgeon was doing it was suffocated him. But that quickly ceased to be a problem once the german uncaringly ripped his american's heart out of its proper place.

Attached to his beating heart was a strange device, bigger than the heart itself. "Hmm…" Medic hummed, scanning through the readings of the device. "Zhe Heart Implant seems to be vorking as well, zhis isn't loose too. Gut, gut."

This device was another bread-and-butter enhancement, it allows the user to the survive getting Übercharged, and it also made the revival via the Reanimator possible. Without that, all of them would have to wait for Re:Spawn, while robots were marching through their dead bodies.

Dropping that very important organ onto the table, as if it was just some rubbish, Medic continued his work of dismantling the mercenary piece by piece. This time he went lower where his intensities were located. Medic had no interest in Soldier's digestive system, but he pulled out another tiny device out his body, which was attached to Soldier's spine via needle.

It didn't take the surgeon to find out what was wrong with it, all it took was his short glance.

"Zhat not good, zhis Critical Booster is nearly burned out. Replacing."

Unceremoniously throwing the defect implant over his shoulder, the german opened a drawer and took the identical replacement, and also a hammer.

This little thing was just a supplementary implant, but pretty useful one. It allowed the user to land Critical and Mini-Critical hits with their fists or melee weapons. It usually worked only under certain conditions, but sometimes it will randomly activate on its own. Those were commonly known as 'Random Crits'.

A situational but very powerful advantage, especially against other enhanced people. Critical Hits wreck havoc on the poor Nano-Machines, causing them to explode and obliterate everything nearby, bloodstreams, tissue, nerves.

Critical Hits, or just Crits for short, aren't only limited to close-quarter combat, there are special Critical chips to use on guns as well. Attach one to its barrel and you'll gain the same results but with bigger range.

Medic hammered the nail-like implant into Soldier's spine, right between the vertebrae. "Aaargh!" The American yelled loudly. It hurt him like hell, and there was an off-chance chance that Soldier will be permanently paralyzed from waist-down. But that was just a minor detail.

"Now zhen, please turn your head to zhe left und hold still. Ve are nearly done."

Soldier felt a mild relief from the fact that this was the ending. All that's left is to check on an implant so important and sensitive, that it could be destroyed by just looking at it the wrong way.

On this critical moment that Medic had to take few deep breaths to calm himself before he could continue working. The next cuts weren't in patient's torso, but on his neck, where the last enhancement was hidden in Soldier's body, the Re:Spawn Chip.

It works like a processor which collects and processes all information it receives from the Nano-Machines, and then sends them to the Re:Spawn System. Thanks to that, the system will know when someone dies so it can bring him back.

Looking at the fragile chip, Medic released a brief sigh of relief. "Yup, nothing is vrong. Time to put you together." The clean-up part was a lot easier that someone would expect, you would think that there's no way Medic could reattach Soldier's heart, his left lung and his acid-leaking stomach without killing him, right? Wrong, getting him healed is a easy a very easy process. All you need to do is just put all organs more-less where they were supposed to be, and the Medi-Gun will take care of of the rest. Easy peasy, no need for medical license.

By the way, that immerse pain that Soldier was talking about, it was just the acid eating his body. Don't worry it's nothing serious.

Medic unfastened Soldier's restraints and let him out of the room.

"Next."

There was a 1 implant that Medic failed to check, because this was only for Scout. It's an Agility Amplifier located in his thighs. It allowed him to jump mid-air and sometimes even run as fast as cars. Thanks to that he's the most mobile mercenary in the group.

His speed is earned, no other merc have their legs as firm as his.

Not even a hour has passed and Medic already checked three out of eight mercenaries, himself included. Nothing major occurred which was boring for the German. No one felt any unreasonable pains, there wasn't any blood mysteriously leaking from their skulls, their hearts still struggled to beat with the Heart Implant attached to them. It was all boring procedure that you readers wouldn't even want to read more than one time.

Engineer already went through that procedure before the fight even started, this gave him some free time to work on his long-range Teleporter.

I'm sure all of you knows how this will end.

* * *

"Seems we managed to lose him…"

Said IF as she observed the scenery, which wasn't changing at all. Piles upon piles of random objects and streams of yellow liquid was there is. The brunette began to wonder why someone named this place 'Gamindustri Graveyard' while this is all just a gigantic garbage dump.

Maybe she should put a request in the Guild to change its name, a Gigantic Garbage Dump sounds nice enough.

But on the bright side, that maniac with axe was nowhere to be found. Maybe he has already given up searching, or he just went the wrong way, it didn't really matter.

Compa, exhausted from carrying Nepgear this entire time, fell onto her knee and panted heavily. "Hauh, hauh… Ge-Ge is way heavier than she looks…"

Yes, she's a nurse (in training) and good at carrying bodies. But the blonde is by no means athletic, she can't run even a kilometer without panting and running with an unconscious body on your back is way more tiring than it sounds.

Not to mention there may be something really wrong with Ge-Ge… it would be best if they had a professional to check on her once they come back to Planeptune.

"Even after all that, the only one we could help was Gear… Not to mention…" They were supposed to rescue all 5 of them, not just 1.

IF sighed, feeling down by their failure. If they just prepared better than they could save all of them... "The Sharicite's power was expanded and it shattered when Ge-Ge had it thrown at him…" Solemnly added Compa. With the Sharicite gone, they have lost the only any chances of rescuing other CPUs. It officially marked the end of their operation.

3 years of hard work, and they only saved Nepgear.

"There's no way we can help the CPUs without that…" The brunette mumbled to herself…

Both of them felt miserable, they planned all of it for so long and it could barely feel like a success. And even that was just by sheer luck. They just walked ahead, hoping to get out of this place unnoticed. But there was this one person who wouldn't allow them to stay depressed like this, especially with such an achievement.

"There's no reason to be so hard on yourselves. Saving Nepgear is a very critical accomplishment."

IF took out her N-Gear and glared at the fairy, who evenly matched her gaze.

Initially the Guild agent wanted to lash out on her, to ask why she sounded so happy when they failed to save the rest of the CPUs, when they had an opportunity to do so. But she ceased this thought, getting Gear back was a huge deal, yes. Things might get a little better even with just her around.

So instead of screaming like a madwoman, the brunette just sighed. "Then what's next, Histoire?" She asked, trying to keep her voice passive.

"Return to Planeptune, we shall have Nepgear rest until she has recovered her strength. Besides, I must learn what transpired three years ago, even if her memories are painful for her to recall…"

Regroup, reorganize and plan their next step. Basics. IF easily understood that.

Taking the unconcious girl off Compa's back, the group continued their slow return to their home. And IF had to admit, Gear really was way heavier than she looked.

* * *

The team wasted no time packing things up. Clothes, weapons, food and other munitions were all stuffed into wooden crates or, like in case of Scout's drinks, other containers like coolers or bags. The only thing that they weren't taking with them was bread, mercs either ate it on the spot or just threw it out. They didn't want another rampaging Bread Monster.

While Medic was busy tearing other mercs apart, Engineer finished replacing the burnt Teleporter Cards with new ones, those will take everything standing between them to anywhere he wishes. All that's left was reprogramming them and punching in the coordinates.

Miss Pauling wasn't the only one who was confused by Engineer's newest invention, his team were also puzzled by its strange look.

"It's… a Control Point?" Scout burrowed his brows. When the bostonian heard words 'A new teleporter.' Scout expected something like a bigger version of that spinning plate which the texan was constantly building everywhere.

"Is that thing even safe?" Sniper skeptically questioned. To him it didn't matter how it looks, but he doesn't want to lose his limbs because of some slight miscalculation or to suddenly find himself in a Spook's body. He knows how dangerous some of his projects can be, like that Repair Node or the Guard Dog.

Poor doggy… that good boy never deserved the fate that Medic and Engineer brought on him...

"Yup, y'all should be fine takin' it. There weren' any problems when I was testin' it back at Bigrock."

Engineer reassured them as he pressed few buttons on keyboard, his eyes never left the screen. "I need more time to get this thing ready, but ya can already load your stuff onto it. Make sure no one touches cylinders though."

During the next minutes the traffic never ended, someone just left and another guy replaced him. One by one, the crates were loaded onto the pedestal, even Spy, who usually avoided menial labor, was working... by carrying only his own stuff of course.

Luckily, Engineer has prepared a lot of space to work with, it helpful because other mercs had a lot of stuff to move. The crates were heavy and enormous, requiring even 4 people to move them.

Half an hour has passed, then a full hour, but the crates kept moving with no end in sight. The doors were open at all times, so that mercs could enter without much trouble. Their constant, loud footsteps were distracting Engineer at first, but he quickly got used to it. He should fini-

Something crashed and Engineer rose his head from the terminal, the texan saw a furious Soldier standing over the fallen Scout. The former was wet with an unknown liquid, it didn't take a genius to figure out what happened.

"Watch where you're going, short pants! Were we in a shoot out right now, you would be dead faster than your momma can mail you your clean, white panties!"

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry, I just tripped. Jeez…"

Scout picked some scattered backpacks and suitcases, rolling his eyes as and Soldier sniffed his coat. He made a face at the strong smell of BONK! and nearly vomited because of it.

at the same time, the youngest merc reached out for the fallen can that lied on the teleporter. It was empty.

"Aw, man…" The bostonian sighed, reaching out for a fallen can of his drink. It was empty. Not only he has pissed off Soldier, but also spilled the rest of his favorite drink all over one of the cylinders. Scout winced when sparks appeared from the wet device. Other cylinder was doing just fine, only this one appeared to be broken.

…

Act natural, nothing was wrong, no one saw he did it...

...Maybe.

...Probably.

...Most likely.

* * *

After finishing the last command, a smile grew on Engineer's face. "Okay, boys! It's ready! Just stand still on the point while Miss Pauling activates it." The texan enthusiastically announced. He saw that the guys were kind enough to pack his stuff too; all of his blueprints, unfinished projects, scrap metal, clothes, everything that belonged to him was neatly packed into a crate and waiting on the pedestal.

However they didn't take Miss Pauling's belongings, but that was okay because she said she will go report to the Administrator once she sends them to the Coal Town.

Few mercenaries felt uncertain or even nervous. Teleporting one thing at the time was normal and known to be safe, but teleporting so many things at once wasn't ever done before. They had a good reason to be worried. "Zhere are a lot of stuff in here, is zhis really safe, herr Engineer?" Medic was the first one to voice his doubts, then a Spy, his voice a bit mocking.

"I certainly hope we won't end up with Scout's dirty underwear instead of our heads, I wouldn't want to stain my suit with his jizz."

"Your suit sucks, Spy!" Yelled the owner of said dirty underwear.

"Trust me, I'm an Engineer. I calculated everythin' and I trust my math." The merc spoke proudly, standing on the front of the group. "Ahem, Miss Pauling? You know what to do?"

The ravenette was more focused on studying the written instructions than on listening the mercenaries, which meant she didn't answer right away. "Pull the lever downwards to release the locks. Then press the big red button reading 'Start', do not touch the 'Self-Destruct' button which will cause a nuclear explosion and wipe out everything within miles. Once activated, the teleporter should..." She mumbled to herself, blindly pulling the lever.

A glass cover opened, uncovering the mentioned buttons. All she needed was to press one and they'll create history.

"Yeah, I got this. Good luck guys!"

Telling her goodbyes Miss Pauling punches the button, activating the teleporter.

Purple electricity surrounded the team, their source was the raygun above them. More and more lightings appeared until purple was all they seen.

...And then they disappeared...

They successfully teleported, but not to the place they intended.

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Prologue: First Meetings**

* * *

And that's it for the prologue of Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract, I hope you'll enjoy reading the rest of it. This is going to be pretty long and an interesting adventure.

But before you move onto the next chapter, let me take some of your time with some disclaimers. Written specifically so you'll have less reasons to bitch at me.

There won't be any romance between mercenaries and the Neptunia girls, at most there are going to be some suggestive scenes. And possibly yuri.

People who aren't fans of excessively-described violence can leave now. As traumas, both physical and emotional, will be common in the future.

This was written after the Meet your Match update. All weapons' stats will be from that update until stated otherwise.

If you have any suggestions or questions, feel free to PM me as I'm always open for new ideas. Although expect me to change few bits to suit my needs or don't add them at all.

Yes, I know Sniper isn't Australian and that the 'Electro Shield' is actually the 'Projectile Shield'. But this story happens before the TF Comic, and I was too late to notice that I have been calling this shield wrong, just bear with it.

This is a rewritten version of the original prologue, which means I removed few outdated warnings. So if I didn't already revise the next chapters, you'll probably be confused by the numeration on author notes. Just ignore them please.

Also, unless I already rewrote the next chapter, you'll experience a drastic drop in quality in few next chapters (at least until Histy Meets Them All Part I). That was because my writing style back in the day wasn't as polished as of today, and I was also lacking any editors to fix my mistakes, please be considerate.

I take the criticism though, so if you have any problems with my story then don't be afraid to tell me.

Harmless Orange


	2. Breaking the Blood Stained Ice

More important things to read before you begin to read this fanfiction… Yes, ik.

14\. The length of chapter will wary drastically, but I will try to keep them above 3,000 words mark.

15\. There will be pain, there will be blood and there will definitely be mercenaries killing people in cold blood while being killed in the same fashion. Also a possibility of some characters getting mental trauma.

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Breaking the Blood Stained Ice**

* * *

After mercenaries regained their senses, the first thing they saw wasn't a mining town with Saxton Hale's exhibits of coal inside one of the buildings in the middle of nowhere. Sieged by Gray Mann's robotic army…

But instead, the mercenaries found themselves inside a forest…

It was rather ordinary thick forest, lots of trees with bright green leaves and the dirt path coming through it. The clear orange sky with very few white clouds, it was rather chilly since its already evening, but it's still not as chilly as Mountain Lab or Coldfront facility. The temperature is similar to those facilities in temperate climate like Swiftwater. However the lack of birds or any other animals bothers Sniper, but that isn't the only thing bothering him…

Namely the sun is VERY close to the horizon, he didn't checked it properly yet, but they had more less than one and half an hour till nightfall.

The mercenaries started walking and looking around, few jaws were loose. Medic, Spy and Scout quickly checked if they have all their limbs attached to themselves, luckily to them they do. Now they have one matter less to worry…

Engineer frowned at sight of their teleportation location, he can't figure out what went wrong… He checked the map and coordinates multiple times before and after typing out them to the teleporter. The testing inside Bigrock was successful, the distance between Bigrock and Decoy were three times greater than distance between Decoy and Coal Town facility. Not to mention this forest they found themselves in, there weren't any forests nearby, only empty land full of gravel. That means the teleporter sent them at much larger distance than planned out. Could this be the fault of the planets moving around the sun? No, the testing inside Bigrock were successful even without it. Did he miscalculated and screwed up? Possible. Or maybe another alien attack? Also the possibility, mercenaries did stop the alien invasion after all. So it's possible that they may hold a grudge against them. Anyway, failure this big means, that both Saxton Hale and the Administrator will have his head once they get their hands on him… no matter how good his excuse is, and even the Re:Spawn System won't save him this time…

Spy walked to his Australian teammate, during the times like these. Sniper's… questionable but reliable survival skill are quite useful. And Spy knows it.

"Do you know where are we?" Spy asked, releasing a puff of smoke out of his mouth.

"Nah, this ain't Australia…" Sniper grunted, finishing calculating for how long they're gonna have sunlight before the night. "Ah piss, we have a bloody hour and twenty minutes before the nightfall…" He added. It's starting to get chilly, so they will need the fire, looking around there doesn't seems to be any signs of clouds so there won't be any rain. No sighs of civilization besides the dirt path. Well the trees looks sturdy enough, maybe with some help he could climb them…

"Ugh, merde…" Spy swore, while also finishing his cigarette.

* * *

Getting back from the Gamindustri Graveyard took much longer than going in…

Nepgear is still unconscious, which makes Compa worry more with each passing second. Also the 'dead' (wo)man's weight really takes its toll on her and IF's backs.

Thankfully Compa agreed to switch over with IF every thirty minutes, giving their backs a moment of rest before they have to carry her again. The another positive thing is that they weren't attacked by anything dangerous after leaving the Gamindustri Graveyard, save for occasional Dogoo (little blue gel or possibly slime creatures, that resemble a big teardrop and seem to be mixed with either a dog or raccoon. They consist of brown up-point ears, black button eyes and brown nose on a small circular tan muzzle. They also have rounded raccoon-like tails). However, while they're already at Virtua Forest, they still have quite a road to travel, also it's going to be night soon so they have to hurry before the nightfall…

…

…

…

…There are certain things in this forest that IF don't want to experience at night…

* * *

After Engineer failed to figure out how his teleporter have failed, thankfully everyone have better things to do, than to rub it in his face. He and Medic started with the priories. First of all, is activating the Emergency Re:Spawn System. It is the portable version of the original. It is much slower and able to Re:Spawn only one mercenary at the time, but it's still better than staying dead forever. Mann Co., created it, in order to help them in case they got ambushed while moving between facilities. Second is finding the civilization and contacting Miss Pauling, it may lessen Engineer's punishment for failure… but he doesn't believe in miracles like these.

While the 'Eggheads' were working on the Re:Spawn. Scout took this moment to take a can of Crit-a-Cola out of the cooler, and silently laughs at Spy while he tries to lifts Sniper onto the tree. Spy isn't able to support Sniper for long. Even with the Nano-Machines the Spy is the weakest mercenary out of the group, even Scout have bigger muscles than him, however he is the cleverest one out of them and his intelligence rivals Medic's and Engie's.

When Sniper finally went climbed to the tree, Scout took one of his rifles. The 'Classic' (H&K G36, but fitted with a longer barrel and a laser sight.) "Yo! Heads up!" He threw the rifle at the Australian, he caught it effortlessly. "Thanks, mate!" Sniper began climbing higher with the Classic worn over his shoulder. The fall from the height Sniper is now, could kill normal person or atleast heavily injure him, however the Nano-Machines would (somehow) absorb most of the fall damage, reducing it to mere a bruise.

While the Sniper is scanning the area, Spy and Scout went to the pile of supplies to take atleast few boxes out of the pile and place them on ground, so they won't fall and get's destroyed.

Pyromaniac went ahead to the forest with Demolition Man accompanying him. They want to collect some wood and stones for the campfire. They found that AND something else…

A Dogoo…

For the first time in history… Pyro sees something in Pyroland, that others are also able to see it in the same way. The blue slime is happily jumping around the forest with no destination, just jumping for the sake of jumping. When the mercenaries approached the Dogoo, it turned around and faced them, it looked at them with curiosity. Demoman scratched his head, not sure what to do with… this. If he was alone he would think that it's just alcohol getting into his head, but seeing someone else staring at it makes it less plausible.

Pyro and Dogoo had a staring contest, Pyromaniac tilted its head to the right, Dogoo tilted it's body to the right. Pyro tilted its head to the left, and Dogoo did the same.

Finally Dogoo made the first move…

It lunged at its mask…

However it didn't spook Pyro, it's just gripped its slimy body and threw it onto the ground, then squashed it with its foot while mumbling something resembling a laugh. He had enough 'Jumpscares' from enemy Spies and Scouts popping around the corner, shooting him with their 'Ambassadors' (a large-barreled revolver with a deep red rosewood grip, and an engraving of a reclining woman on the barrel) and Scatterguns and then running behind the corner before he could do anything. Demoman didn't even have time to react before Pyro drilled its heel into the slimy body of Dogoo. Dogoos may be weak as fuck, but they aren't weak enough for this to kill it, it merely held it in place while also hurting it like hell.

Demoman wasn't quite sure what to do, they teleport to unknown location and after venturing little off the roads they meet with… this thing. However he know who may know what to do… The Medic, yes he will know, he is the smart one! The Demo motioned Pyro to stop, it did and it looked at him curiously. Demo rubbed his hands together, he didn't have any container to put the Dogoo in, so he decided to brace himself for any pain or uncomfortableness when he takes it into his bare hands.

* * *

"Men! These are the facts as I understand them."

Said Soldier, his back turned to the rest of his team with his arms crossed behind him. His team just ignored him. Heavy and Scout had a lunch break with the former eating a Sandwich and the latter drinking Crit-a-Cola .

Medic and Engie finished setting up the E.R.S.S (Emergency Re:Spawn System if you can't figure it out…) and Doctor was now in the middle of figuring out two things…

First is who was dumb enough to take the glass jar with the living bread onto the teleporter.

Second is why it's much more aggressive than before. It keeps trying to bite off the glass in the same direction where Demo and Pyro went.

Sniper is still carefully scanning the area. While Engineer is trying to figure out where they are by using some maps he found inside the pile. All while carefully setting up a Dispenser and Teleporter.

Demoman is obviously busy with carrying a beaten up Dogoo back to the Medic, and Pyro is busy carrying the already burning wood to the camp. No one knows how it set them on fire though…

"One! We're in unknown place and we don't know where we are-" Soldier raised his index, Scout cut him off, causing Soldier to glare at him with death stare…

"Yeah! No shit Mr. Sherlock."

"Got anything funny else to say, funny man?"

"…" Scout went back to his Crit-a-Cola.

"Good. Two! Where the hell is that Scottish Cyclops and Smokey Joe!?" Soldier raised his middle finger. Conveniently enough they heard 'Scottish Cyclops's' yell just when Soldier finished his sentence.

"Medic, look!" Demolition Man ran towards the German, the bread monster inside the glass jar is now even more enraged than before! Demo held the Dogoo with his right hand on top of it and left on bottom of the Dogoo, so he will have no chance of jumping onto the team.

"Umm, what the hell!?" Scout's jaw dropped.

"Kill it! Kill it before it lay eggs!" Soldier backed out from the Demo, for some reason Soldier was pointing at the Demoman instead of Dogoo.

"Mmph mprh, huddah mmrph drghya!" Pyro took its flame thrower and aimed at the Dogoo who is now in the Medic's hands. Dogoo is too focused on the glass jar to react on everything happening around it.

"Hmm, zhis is certainly fascinating. I have never seen something like zhit." Doctor muttered. The bread monster started pressing its entire body against the glass in the Dogoo direction. It was noticed by the Medic who took the Dogoo and wanted to test something.

He lifted it to his right side, the Self-Aware Beauty Mark was 'glaring' to his right side. Medic changed the placement of Dogoo, Bread Monster changed its position to 'stare' menacingly at Dogoo, confirming Doctor's theory.

"Incoming!"

Sudden Sniper's yell caused Medic and rest of the team to shift their attention at Sniper. Doctor threw the Dogoo to the ground and it landed onto the glass jar with the bread monster, shattering it and releasing it. Spooked Dogoo quickly retreated back into the forest. Not caring about the Bread Monster biting hard into it.

…

…

In the future, this Bread Monster will live on in this forest by killing and eating the Dogoos, it will scare all the travelers who were unlucky enough to cross him inside the forest. Creating various rumors and myths. It will mentally scar a small girl which will never be able to eat bread without getting reminded of this fateful encounter. His demise will be from a hand of the same girl who just started her adventure, finally getting her first blood on her sword. The End.

* * *

Inside a dim lighted room, filled with countless screens, monitors and other machines showing the video feed from cameras and a single chair with its back large enough to cover someone entirely. Administrator, took a swing of her cigarette while waiting for the Miss Pauling's return to report the situation. She Kept her watchful eye on countless screens showing the video streams from the cameras placed all over the world. Thanks to her connections she was even able to hide her cameras inside Gray Mann's headquarters, keeping tabs on him and his robotic army.

"Report." She said, not even bothering to turn around to see Miss Pauling entering the room.

"Well, umm. The mercenaries already moved to the Coal Town via new teleporter which Engine-" Reported Miss Pauling, however Administrator stopped her.

"Miss Pauling."

"Yes?"

Administrator took another swing of her cigarette, before typing something on her keyboard. The video feeds shown on screen changed from Gray Mann's Carrier Tank to the Coal Town facility. However what really bothered Miss Pauling was lack of certain nine mercenaries setting up defenses.

 **"…They aren't there…"**

* * *

"Crap, Hide!" Hissed IF before ducking behind the tree to cover herself. It was her turn to carry Nepgear into the Planeptune however it seems that ASIC spotted and intercepted them, and judging by the noise. It's not a small group.

"Waaah! W-what are we gonna do?" Asked Compa, ducking next to the IF.

IF listened closely, she couldn't hear any more voices but she could hear very faintly other noises, like something hitting metal with metal, beeping and… blender? IF thinks this is a blender…

"ASIC? Here? But I received no information of anyone coming into here." Histoire's eyes widen.

"I Dunno, but we aren't in condition to fight. Not to mention it's just two of us against large group of them." IF looked around. The trees won't provide much of cover, and they're already spotted so it's likely that they're already closing in. And most likely they will have advantage in numbers…

 ***EXPLOSION***

"Yikes! What was that!?" Compa jumped. IF put Nepgear against the tree and leaned herself to see what is happening. She saw a silhouette carrying a longitudinal object in his hands flying midair! Because sun is right behind it, IF isn't able to see its color. However it seems to see IF because it somehow changed its trajectory and its now quickly closing the distance!

 **"Screamin' Eagles!"**

Soldier wearing Gunboats (a pair of modified, metal-reinforced jump boots used by paratroopers) landed with painful sound of bones breaking right in front of the IF and Compa. However he ignored the dulled pain (thanks to the Nano-Machines), and spun on his heel to face IF and aimed his Rocket Launcher at her face. Before nearly instantly lowering it with shocked face.

"Ladies?" His eyes hidden behind helmet widen. IF, Compa and Histoire who happened to see his landing via N-Gear's camera, let their jaws loose.

However IF quickly recovered from the shock and started attacking with the roundhouse kick to Soldier's left cheek. To her surprise he blocked it with his left forearm like it was nothing. Then he proceeded to sweep her from her footing with his metal plated foot. IF rolled away from him while Compa took her oversized syringe out and tried to stab Soldier! But he effortlessly blocked it with the Rocket Launcher and countered with strong punch to gut with his left arm. Compa is now crouching and coughing while clenching her stomach, unable to battle…

"You ladies are weak and don't even know how to fight!" He taunted.

"What do you want!?" IF angrily yelled, bracing her Katars. However an invisible force forced her arms behind her back. IF tried to struggle but the force was far more stronger than her.

"Okay, okay. Soldier enough." Spy deactivated his cloak. "Will madame be still struggling or give up?" he asked while still maintaining a good grip on her forearms, right under her elbows. He couldn't get a hold of her wrists because her Katars are extended. However if she tried to do something funny then he can end her right here, right now with single stab of his Sharp Dresser (a hidden blade with an eagle-shaped hook worn under the sleeve).

"Surrender now woman, and you will not be harmed!" Soldier pointed his Rocket Launcher at Compa who dropped her syringe and raised her hands with teary eyes.

IF analyzed the situation. Soldier was standing over Compa with Rocket Launcher pointed at her face, as she had her arms raised to the sky. Nepgear is still unconscious and Scout and Medic arrived the scene, and they were battle ready…

"IF, it's over…" Histoire said in despair. Preparing to send a battalion of Planeptune soldiers to the rescue, however she hesitated because…

One. It may endanger them even further.

Two. These people will be already gone before the army can mobilize and arrive.

Three. It would surely take interest of ASIC, and they will surely try to act on this. This also why IF and Compa had to walk all the way to the Gamindustri Graveyard alone.

And because of this… Nepgear and her friends are now at mercy of four most dangerous mercenaries in the world who killed more people than days she's alive. However she doesn't know that fact.

IF sighed in defeat, hiding her Katars. Spy felt it and released her arms, and pulled out his Disguise Kit for three things. New Cigarette, picture and recording of her voice for new disguise. He got all information he needed without her realizing.

"So what are you doing here?" IF's eyes narrowed as she glared at Spy, who is causally smoking.

"Actually, nothing. We just had an accident." Spy answered truthfully. You could almost see a golden halo above his head. But IF didn't buy it, she took glanced at Compa.

Medic is now currently healing Soldier's wounds after the landing while keeping a watchful eye on Compa who traded her teary eyes for sparking eyes at the sight of Soldier's wound healing in seconds. She is now standing near Nepgear. Medic , Compa and Soldier appears to be talking the entire time. This actually made IF feel little better. Maybe this was just a misunderstanding… however looking at mercenaries guns made her think otherwise. One wrong word and they're as good as dead!

"Do you think I'll believe it?" IF asked with face that said 'U fokin wot m8?'.

"No. But I will just leave it as that." He retorted. IF decided it's better to drop this topic.

"So…" She started "Will you let us go?" She asked hopefully, Histoire who's now quietly listening in also perked up. Scout looked at Spy who shrugged.

"Yes, but first I want to ask some question." He answered, IF gulped.

"Yeah like-mmph!" Scout tried to say but he got mouthful of Spy's hand, silencing him effectively.

"Scout, it's not time for your flirting…" He pushed him aside while Scout yelled another 'Go to hell, Spy!'. Histoire made a mental note of their codenames to search, and IF got slightly red at the word 'flirting'.

"Ahem" Spy cleared his throat. "First of all, where are we?" He asked calmly.

IF held back a sarcastic remark, and sigh of relief. It's not the right time or person afterall…

"Virtua Forest, over an hour from Planeptune." IF simply answered while Spy searched her face for any sighs of lying. To his surprise, he found nothing.

"Virtua Forest? Planeptune? What?" Scout silently muttered but loud enough for Spy and IF to hear, which caused IF to raise an eyebrow, but kept her mouth shut. He is holding a damn shotgun in his hands after all better just answer their questions and go away. Histoire made another mental note of his confusion about the places, as if he never heard of them.

"Another question, where is this 'Planeptune' you spoke of." Spy walked around her.

"That way, right behind that hill." IF pointed her thumb at the direction from where Mercenaries came from. Spy noted another truthful answer, and hid the confusion about the unknown names of forest and city.

"Yo, do you know what is the blue freakin' slimy thing that jumps around and make weird noises?" Scout cut in. Spy sighed, but then realized that this is actually legit question…

IF and Histoire grew more and more confused by these questions and lack of their knowledge… "You mean the Dogoo? They're pretty common here."

Scout mouthed 'Dogoo' as if trying new language. He nodded to her and scratched his chin before flinching out of disgust at memory of it…

"Now the last thing." Spy spoke, making an eye contact with IF.

"I see, that you, and your blonde friend are tired, also your pink-haired friend is unconscious." He motioned to the Nepgear. "So how about a deal…"

…

…

…Every conscious person nearby looked at Spy as if he had just randomly blown up, and then put back together in few seconds…

"What?" IF forced herself to say.

Scout wrapped an arm around Spy's neck to privately whisper with him, if Compa and Nepgear weren't guarded by Soldier and Medic, IF would take her chances and try to run away now.

"[You sure this is good idea?]"

"[Scout, we don't know the area. And she seems to know it pretty well.]"

"[I know but, what about the rest of the team.]"

"[I am amazed that you started to think. Don't worry, it's beneficial for all of us, we'll be able to contact Miss Pauling inside this 'Planeptune', and they will be able to get there safely.]"

At this point Scout gave up, he raised his hands in 'Okay, do whatever ya want…' manner.

Medic looked at Soldier who just shrugged. Which Medic found curious because most of the time he seems to not know what is happening…

"Simple, we will provide the protection, and you will lead us to the Planeptune."

* * *

Compa and IF (carrying Nepgear, even though Spy and Soldier offered to carry her, but she refused) followed Soldier and Spy while Medic and Scout took the rear. Soldier motioned the group to halt and began communicating with Sniper using hand gestures he teached his team during the Grave War, Soldier told Sniper to tell Engie to disable Sentry Guns. They got civilians with them after all and Sentry Guns shoots everything unauthorized by the Re:Spawn Chip.

Meanwhile IF started chatting with Compa

"How are you?" IF whispered to Compa

"I feel good now! Doctor was kind enough to heal me after the deal!" She whispered back with smile.

"Really? You took quite a punch, you're not sore or anything?" IF raised an eyebrow.

"Nah, their Medic have this weird pipe-gun that heals wounds in seconds, it even healed this mister's legs and made him emit some weird red crosses." Compa pointed at Soldier with sparking eyes. IF remember that painful sound of bones breaking when he landed in front of them, also the explosion…

"A device capable of healing wounds in seconds? Not even Planeptune have technology like that." Histoire's jaw went loose.

"I wonder how he flew like that…" IF muttered.

"Dunno, I didn't ask." Compa whispered.

IF decided to change the topic and ask Scout about something.

"So, how long were you camping here?"

"Dunno, half an hour, maybe, possibly… most likely?" He scratched his ear. IF half expected him to not answer at all…

"I must ask you, how did you get here? I received no reports of highly armored group of people going near Planeptune." Histoire decided to cut in through the N-Gear.

"Accidents do happen, madame…?" Spy stopped for Histoire to introduce herself.

"Histoire, I am the Oracle of Planeptune… Mr. Spy am I right?" Spy nodded.

"I fail to see how an accident can lead for heavily armored group to pass undetected to a forest near the most advanced city in Gamindustri… Are you perhaps working with ASIC?" Histoire finally decided to bring a cat out of the bag, Compa and IF suddenly tensed at sight of all mercenaries around them looking at each other, confusion in their eyes but the girls didn't see it. Histoire mentally kicked herself for endangering her friends again and possibly leading them to their demise…

"ASIC? Never heard of it." They answered in union. Which made the females grow very confused…

"Really?"

"Ja, we aren't actually from here, Fräulein." Medic shrugged.

"Huh?" Compa and IF spoke in union.

"Nevermind, we're here." Said Spy.

The camp set up by mercenaries started to grow bigger, originally they planned to leave tomorrow morning due to already evening, however with IF's guidance they may even do it today. The camp now have all features mercenaries need, Sentry Guns providing the defenses and shooting everything that moves in sight, Dispensers and Resupply Lockers for ammo and medicaments and teleporter to pack it all up quickly after they get into the city. Compa and IF gulped at the sight of red turret with two zero-point-five caliber machine guns and another turret with same weaponry but with rocket launcher attached on top of it…

"Half an hour, huh?" Compa sweatdropped.

"AT-TEEENNN-TION!" Yelled Soldier, causing IF and Compa to flinch at the volume of his voice and Heavy, Demo, Sniper (who already got onto the ground) and Pyro to look at him while Engineer was busy upgrading his teleporter.

"Men! We have been tasked to escort these civilians back to safety! Gear up! We're leaving when Medic checks the injured! Dismissed!"

Soldier motioned to IF and Medic to follow him, while mercenaries braced themselves to depart. Soldier and Medic took some wooden crates and placed them in row so IF can put Nepgear on them. Medic then proceeded to check on her injuries while Compa volunteered to help, he saw no reason to decline.

Meanwhile, Scout and Spy disturbed the information they gathered from IF, but not without getting 'WTF?' stares from the team. They seen some weird shit during the Gravel War and Gray Mann Uprising like magic, skeletons, robots, giant freakin flying eye which shoots eye-rockets, Horseless Headless Horsemann. But this easily surpassed that…

After several minutes IF came in to check on Nepgear while Compa and Medic finished checking on her injuries.

"How's she?" IF asked, while sitting besides Nepgear.

"Luckily nothing serious, but she's exhausted and needs to rest." Compa answered, and sat down next to IF.

"Oh thank goddess…" IF and Histoire muttered in unison.

"They're really nice, right?" Compa muttered.

"Yeah… now that I think about, you're right!" Said IF. As suspicious as they are (and heavily armored, HOLY CRAP THIS GUYS IS CARRING A FREAKIN MINIGUN!) they didn't do anything wrong, besides Soldier attacking them but that counts more as self-defense…

Out of boredom, IF looked at the wooden crates under Nepgear and she saw an interesting detail on them…

…A company's logo…

 **Mann Co.**

 **We sell products and get in fights**

"Never heard of them…" Quietly muttered IF, however Compa picked it up and asked.

"Never heard of what?"

" Mann Co." IF pointed at the logo on crate. She pulled her cellphone and took a picture of it to search it later.

"Should I ask them about it?" Compa asked.

"Nah, thank you. I will do it myself later."

Soon all mercenaries were ready to move out, Sentry Guns have been activated but they were still manually controlled by Engineer's Wrangler (remains of a wooden pistol grip implemented under an early-eighty's single-button style red colored joystick, with a small, rectangular radar dish protruding from the front. A team-colored wire which is taped and attached to the joystick runs from the back of it and into the radar dish) until girls leave their range. Histoire felt better now, that now a such heavily armored group of people, escorting Nepgear back and that she doesn't need medical attention…

…

…

…However IF can't help but feel slightly intimidated by the person inside fireproof suit carrying a homemade Flame Thrower, or the person carrying A BLOODY MINIGUN…!

* * *

The path leading through the Virtua Forest was thankfully easy one. It was Compa's turn to carry Nepgear. Which finally gives a bit of rest to poor IF's back. She can't wait till they drop her off in the Basilicom so she can go back to her home and take a long, hot, sweet bath… yeah… a bath… that's what IF needs after a day like this...

The group was getting attacked by monsters, yes, now even more frequently than before. But before they could even get close they were taking a bullet to the 'head' from Sniper or rocket/grenade from Soldier/Demoman. IF and Compa can't even get a good look at the Dogoo before it gets killed, true to their word, their protection is… solid… like they were doing this their entire life...

Finally after like thirty minutes of walking IF finally switched over with Compa. They were already on top of the hill which finally allowed mercenaries to gaze their eyes onto Planeptune.

Planeptune is futuristic city filled with towering skyscrapers and futuristic like building structures. A noticeable structure on Planeptune is the Neptower, a large tower which is clearly visible within the city.

"My! God!" Spy muttered, not hiding the amazement.

"For the first time in my life, I'm at a loss for words." Scout's jaw went loose.

"Holy Mary Mother of Joseph!" Muttered Soldier.

"Oh, now would ya look at that!" Demoman grinned.

"Not bad!" Sniper whispered.

"It's beautiful." Engie whistled.

"Hmm. Is nice." Heavy hmm'ed.

"It's beautiful." Medic gasped.

"Welcome to Planeptune, the region of purple progress! The most advanced nation in Gamindustri!" Histoire announced proudly through IF's N-Gear. However Sniper noticed something he felt… odd. He took his 'Classic' and looked at the river near the city through its scope. And he saw what he needed to confirm with someone.

"IF, c'mere." He whispered, single-handedly motioning gesturing to rest of the team to stay alert. IF walked towards him and he gave her his rifle. Then he started whispering to her where she should be looking…

And she saw it too…

"…ASIC…"

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Breaking the Blood Stained Ice**

* * *

 **A/N: A cliffhanger upupupu! And with that written all down I can start writing next chapter of 'The Alternate Beginning'.**

 **Respondes:**

 **BreadNotDead – Too much info? Oops… I felt like I needed to explain a fair share of TF2 mechanics but I guess I went too far, gonna try harder next time.**

 **Thaqif – Well there you have your chapter m8, I hope you enjoyed it. However I can't promise a frequent updates till I finish my previous fanfiction... Which is quite far from being finished…**


	3. First Blood

**Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **First Blood**

* * *

"IF, please specify what ASIC is doing there?" Histoire ordered. Several mercenaries looked at eachother with raised eyebrow.

IF looked through the scope of 'Classic' once more…

It was hard, but she saw a complex of buildings (similar to Lumberyard base, but with few changes. First is lack of mountains, cliffs and train rails, the buildings are much more modern and the area itself is cleaner and greener, the last thing is a deep river with metallic bridge in front of the complex.) and several people hiding inside the buildings with over seven to ten people standing on the bridge. Some of them looks like an adventures and stands on the outer side of the river. While the rest are surely ASIC members standing on the inner side of the river.

She couldn't figure out what they're doing until one of the adventures handed over something to the ASIC grunt, then the same ASIC grunt gave them something in return. IF is too far away to see the details of people…

"A group of adventures traded something to the ASIC." IF handed the rifle back to Sniper, who began spotting people in the warehouse.

"Will they be a problem?" Spy asked, tapping his cigarette to remove the ashes.

"Twelve in the buildings, four on the bridge, another four going deeper, all armed. Nearly half a kilometer from here." Sniper nearly instantly spotted everyone around the warehouse and calculated the distance. IF's jaw went loose.

"How did you see them? I was barely seeing those on the bridge." She asked.

"Sheila… occupational experience." Sniper said while still looking through the scope. IF sweatdropped and went away from the team to Compa and had a discussion with her.

"Okay, so. We go there, kick some butts and I'm gonna be awesome! Then we're in Planeptune, right?" Scout flexed his bicep and winked at Compa, however she didn't notice him. Much to his dismay.

"Mmbhy." Pyro started at the lit lighter in its hands. Spy used the said lighter to light his cigarette on fire, surprising the Pyromaniac.

"'If fighting is sure to result in victory then you must fight!'" Soldier quoted Sun Tzu. Obviously… also pumping his fist to the air.

"Sniper?" He turned towards him, the Australian silently groaned while rolling his eyes. "Ye." He grunted.

"Maggots!" The American war hero (criminal) turned towards the team.

"We must fight! And I won't stop until I beat each and every maggot standing in my way to the victory!" He said.

Meanwhile…

"How's she?" IF asked, concern in her voice.

Compa sat against the rock, alongside unconscious Nepgear. Compa was texting something on her phone.

"Ge-Ge is fine but she's still unconscious, wanna sit down?" Compa moved little to the side to give IF some space. She gladly accepted then sighed.

"Histy, what are we gonna do now?"

"Now that Nepgear has been rescued. Gathering shares should become much easier, however ASIC could still easily get them back, so we need more help in order to chase away ASIC from Planeptune." Histoire sighed.

"How about we hire those mercenaries to help us?" Compa suggested with warm smile.

Yes, when the group traveled to Planeptune, the females learned few things about mercenaries from more friendly mercs like Engineer or Demoman (they couldn't understand much from his drunk babble). One of these things is the fact that they're actually mercenaries.

"I'm little skeptical about this… usually mercenaries have no morals and do whatever someone orders them, as long as they pay. On the other hand, that group seems to be very strong and experienced at fighting, if ASIC got their hands on them then it could mean big problem for us." Histoire closed her eyes and recalled how easily injured Soldier beat IF, who is high-rank guild member and her friend Compa.

Then the Medic, who possess a device capable of healing any wounds in seconds (atleast according to Compa, because Histoire didn't see it in action, yet). The only thing preventing him from using it on Nepgear is because Histoire declined out of fear of what may happen.

"Well, we can't just stand and do nothing! It took us three damn years to gather enough shares to get Gear back!" IF snapped. However before she could even realize what she said a loud and sharp whistle shifted attention of all three girls to the Engineer to motioned them to get up.

"Mister Engineer, where are we going now?" Asked Compa while raising Nepgear onto her shoulders.

"Through there and to Planeptune, partner." Engie pointed at the ASIC infested warehouse. The mercenaries already went ahead.

…IF, Histoire and Compa looked at eachother…

* * *

…Little earlier, at the river…

"So here's the deal. You guys hand over your money, and we will let you into Planeptune, we will even throw some Arfoire chips for free." A commanding female voice filled the air.

The owner of that voice is a light skinned female with black short ponytail. She have blue eyes and purple line tattoos around her body, which seems to resemble the data lines. She wears a black jacked zipped all the way to her neck, covering her small-but-not-flat-chest and black skirt which ends a little higher than her kneecaps with a loose fitting black belt, She also wears black boots with black white striped socks and black leather like gloves.

The most noticeable aspect of her are her arms, they're in fact, artificial and robotic and start from her shoulders, they are very sleek and clean and are white in color.

On her side is attached long white whip with two purple lines going from the end of the handle and all the way to the tip of the whip.

"And what if we refuse?" One of the adventures reached for her sword. The black haired female snapped her fingers and all three ASIC members pulled out guns. A shotgun, SMG and pistol. Adventurers eyes snapped wide open.

"Then you morons would get some early gifts for birthdays." She took her whip and held it menacingly, her eyes glowing red, several sparks could be seen from the whip. The group looked at themselves, then their leader nervously reached into his bag and pulled out his wallet, before walking towards the female with a whip and nervously giving it to her.

Like her switch was flipped, her eyes instantly turned blue, and she put her whip back to her side.

"Good, Linda." The leader motioned to another female with odd white-purple skin, ruby red eyes and pointed ears. She also have a two-pieced belly button ring consisting of silver pieces and pastel green color with few spiked bangs, mainly tucked back except for the center ones, along with spiked edging of her chest length hair, few strands flipping outward while many frame her face.

Linda's attire looks to be somewhat boyish. Wearing a big, opened gray jacket with a mouse eared hood, white whisker markings and a big black mouse nose. The inside of the jacket is red colored, while it has black, spiked lining and cuffs with thin spiked white lined markings in the center. Around her neck is a black collar, and she has a very small black tube top on with X shaped strings in the middle with an opened heart on each side, one being red and the other yellow. Her gloves are black, with the under-side being red to match her jacket. She wears plain brought, baggy pants with black at the top and loose black strings. On her feet she wears black boots with strings going up the center.

"Yes Ma'am, Maxie!" Linda took a pouch filled with Arfoire chips. She gave four of them to the group's leader, who took them and nervously distributed between his teammates. Afterwards the ASIC members moved to the side to let them pass.

"Welcome to the Planeptune, hope you're gonna enjoy it." The ASIC grunt leader said mockingly.

Little later, inside one of the buildings…

"Hey, Max!" Linda called out.

"Ya?" The ASIC leader looked at her.

"Did we really have to mug these broads? All we had to do was just to distribute these damn chips." Linda leaned against the wall, her arms crossed. Maxie clicked her tongue.

"Linda, Linda, Linda. Sweetheart…" She placed her hand on Linda's shoulder.

"No one said we CAN'T take something from them, we can do what they're telling us to do. And earn some extra meanwhile, because as you really know, ASIC pays crap to us." The grip on Linda's shoulder intensified, Maxie's smile said 'I'm gonna kill you if you disobey me'.

"So simply enjoy your share, and just shut up." Maxie walked off.

* * *

Miss Pauling instantly went into full-blown panic. Mercenaries aren't defending Coal Town? She saw the coordinates, and checked both mercenaries and her maps to confirm them…

Miss Pauling cannot really explain what happened. Not that Administrator will buy any explanations at that moment…

"You DO have the coordinates, right?" Administrator took a swing of her seemingly endless cigarette…

"Y-Yes, here." Miss Pauling nervously flipped the pages on her clipboard to find a right page with the details on the Teleporter. She found it and gave it to the Administrator, who simply motioned to leave them next to ashtray.

"Miss Pauling." Administrator turned her chair toward Miss Pauling. Uh oh…

"You do know how I hate betrayal. Am. I. Right." The way Administrator said 'Am I right', was like she was ready to order a public torture and execution to nearest person available.

"Y-Yes." Miss Pauling gulped.

"I'm giving you a week to track them down, all of them." The Administrator turned her chair back to the screens, Miss Pauling ran out of the room without saying anything.

Administrator sighed, she picked up her phone and called other morons she knew very well…

"…Administrator here, I heard you're still looking for new job…"

* * *

"So what's the plan?" IF decided to break the silence.

"Mhe mmll mphy mmph. Ih mphy geh mmah." Pyro mumbled, trying to explain. But it failed…

"We will simply beat them up, lassie." Demolition Man took huge sip of his scrumpy. Then he asked IF and Compa if they want some, IF refused immediately and Compa also refused, but little more politely.

"Trying to simply force your way in? Why haven't we thought of that?" Histoire sighed, before frowning.

"Also, wouldn't it be safer if you, sir, didn't drink alcohol while having so much explosives on yourself?"

"Actually, ma'am. It's better that way… and ya'll don't need to worry, we have it planned out." Engineer patted IF in the shoulder. Histoire wanted to ask about the plan Engie mentioned but Heavy spoke.

"We are here." Heavy spoken. Engineer crouched and motioned for females to do the same.

The group was still inside a forest over thirty meters away from the bridge, the sun barely visible, sets of rocks, bushes and trees between the group and clearing in front of it. Engie poked Spy shoulder, thinking about the irony of that moment.

"Ya ready?" He whispered, Spy smirked and took out a butterfly knife into his right hand, IF whistled at display of his skill and 'L'Etranger' (a stylish, narrow-barreled revolver with an ivory handle design) into his left hand. Under his left sleeve others could also see a digital watch with a gold-colored case, three small buttons and alligator leather straps. This watch is named 'Cloak and Dagger'.

"But of course." Spy activated said watch and disappeared in the air. Which caused Histoire's eyes to widen.

"He can turn invisible!?" IF and Compa's jaws went lose. Engie, Scout and Sniper chuckled at their reactions.

Sniper took out his Classic, the Nano-Machines adjusted his vision so he could still see Spy's silhouette moving towards the warehouses, before stopping to recharge the motion-sensitive batter, and moving once again.

"So what exactly is your plan?" IF whispered to Medic.

"Zhe Spy vill disguise as one of zhe guards, zhen ve will try to pass. If there von't be any trouble zhen Spy vill come back to us. If not zhen we will force our way in." He whispered back. Histoire raised an eyebrow.

"Disguise, wouldn't it be… actually nevermind. I'm sure you have a way to do that." Histoire sighed, she saw enough to simply stop trying to ask...

"Okay fellas." Engineer said while building a dispenser. IF raised an eyebrow at the building machine Compa wanted to ask what this is but Engineer didn't finish.

"Brace yourself, grab some ammo. We're going when Spy gives us a signal." Engineer said while upgrading his dispenser, it's already half-way to the level two and mercenaries already took out all ammo they need if they will need to fight.

"Mister Engineer, what is this?" Compa pointed at the dispenser. Engineer smirked and explained what dispensers do, he also included the fact that it also have uses the same technology as Medi-Gun. Which caused Compa's eyes to sparkle and Engineer to grew confused…

* * *

"Ma'am!" One of the ASIC grunts in charge of communication called out. Maxie snapped her head in his direction.

"What is it?"

"It's a call from CFW Judge, Ma'am!" He handed her the phone. Maxie clicked her tongue, it's already the second time he's calling her, something about two chicks escaping from Gamindustri Graveyard with one of the CPUs…

Maxie wordlessly took the phone from grunt's hands. "Yes, sir! Maxie here."

"Did you get them yet, Maxie?" Judge asked. There was huge crash and lots of people screaming in the background.

"No sir! No one matching sir's description came through here." Maxie answered respectfully. She hated being controlled but she isn't stupid enough to enrage the CFW…

"Grrr, damn it all where are they!?" He yelled, another crash could be heard in the background.

"I don't know sir, but we will find and capture them." Maxie reassured. CFW Judge grunted again.

"I hope so. If I find out that they DID come to Planeptune, then it's your head on the line, you got that? Now get me Linda on the line." He said sternly.

"Yes, sir!" Max looked at Linda and sharply whistled with her fingers, getting attention of all ASIC grunts in the room. She motioned Linda to come here and handed her the phone.

"CFW Judge." She whispered, Linda nodded.

While Linda held a conversation with the CFW, Maxie sniffed the air. She could smell strong cigarette smoke in the air.

"Is someone smoking now?" She asked the grunts, headcounting. Everyone including Linda shaken their heads.

"Weird…" She muttered, narrowing her eyes and deciding to follow the trail, she doesn't actually have anything against smoking as long as it is outside, but she can't stand if someone's smoking indoors.

She found half finished cigarette on the floor, someone already stepped on it…

Someone wasted a good cigarette hoping that she doesn't find about this…

She hates when peasants thinks they can outsmart her…

"Okay guys! Listen up!" She quickly activated her whip and used it to get everyone's full attention. Fortunately for Linda, she already ended her conversation and handed back the phone to the nameless grunt.

"Yes Ma'am!" Came quick response from all ASIC grunts in the room, few nervous at the sight of now-red eyes and glowing purple data lines tattoos.

"Care to explain what this is?" She held the extinguished cigarette in her hand.

"A cigarette, duh?" Linda replied sarcastically. Maxie snapped her head in her direction with 'You're dead' smile. Linda automatically regretted her choice…

"Yes, and will our dear Linda say what did I say about smoking indoors?" Max took a small step toward Linda, which tried to reach her pipe as subtly as possible.

"N-No smoking indoors, Ma'am!" Linda glanced between the pipe and Maxie. The small but too far distance to her pipe or any other weapon plus Maxie already in her 'Punishment Mode' and walking towards her equals…

She's screwed up situation.

"Yes." Maxie stopped, still smiling. Before whipping the air.

"Then why you fuckers can't simply follow this fucking rule!?" She roared.

And the sound of something going deep into the flesh was the only response…

Maxie immediately stopped focusing on these morons and ran up the stairs, battle ready. Linda (now with her pipe) and several other ASIC members took this opportunity to leave the room as quietly as possible (In Linda's case leave the entire post itself, due to CFW Judge wanting her somewhere else), knowing there aren't many scarier opponents than angry Maxie…

However Maxie saw nothing out of the ordinary…

The room full of furniture like couches, chairs, tables (with cards and chips for poker) was empty, save for single ASIC spotter near the window with binoculars in his hands.

No signs of blood, fighting, anything…

Thankfully the spotter didn't seems to notice her, so she quietly stepped down the stairs, only to find empty room and open doors…

"CFW Judge, huh?" Smirked the 'spotter'. Smoke appeared around him, revealing the RED Spy! He was glad Maxie didn't walk further into the room, or she would spot a dead body hidden behind the furniture, with a knife inside his throat.

Spy started sending the message to Sniper via hand gestures, hoping Sniper will pick up. He repeated three times the same message and re-disguised himself as the ASIC grunt.

* * *

To Spy's luck, he received the message and soon enough the group approached the bridge.

Everyone were battle ready, mercenaries refilled with ammunition from dispenser (now upgraded to level three). IF took Sniper's sharpening stone (with his consent, even though he wasn't too happy) and used the time to chat away with Compa, Histoire and sharpen her Katars. (When Histoire asked why, she answered 'I have a feeling I will need them.').

Mercenaries prepared their respective weapons before crossing the bridge…

Scout held his trusty Scattergun in his hands, with pistol in his pocket and his bag filled with 'Sandman's baseballs. (a wooden bat with a smooth black grip, complete with a logo reading "The Sandman" engraved on the side, and a black band tied around the end holding a cracked section of wood together. ).

Soldier holding his Rocket Launcher in his hands and Gunboats on his feets, 'Equalizer' (a silver-headed pickaxe with blood on both its ends.) on his side.

Pyromaniac obviously with his Flame Thrower, 'Scorch Shot' (a flare gun with a gray barrel, an orange painted muzzle, and a black grip held in place with pins on the underside of the barrel) in its suit pocket (yes it have pockets!).

Demolition Man traded his Iron Bomber for a multiple-round, break-action 'Grenade Launcher' with adjustable weapon sights, wooden stock and foregrip. However he kept his Stickybomb Launcher and half-empty bottle of whiskey.

Heavy Weapons Guy proudly carrying Sasha in his arms, 'Sandvich' safely wrapped into paper and tucked into his pouch.

Engineer carrying toolbox with level three dispenser on his left shoulder, supporting it with both hands. Golden monkey wrench at his side, pistol in pocket and shotgun on his back.

Medic carrying his Medi-Gun and Overhealing rest of the mercenaries, 'Übersaw' (a cleaver-like blade fixed into a Bonesaw grip. Its most prominent feature is a large syringe filled with red-colored, glowing liquid and the needle protruding out of the front of the weapon) at his side.

Sniper with Classic on his back, SMG and Machete on his sides.

They were doing their protective circle around IF and Compa who is still carrying Nepgear, but their tried to spread as much as possible (A habit from The Gravel War and The Gray Mann Uprising)…

They can't help but to imagine what the Administrator would say in this moment…

…Maybe…

 _"…Mission begins in sixty seconds…"_

* * *

Spy informed Maxie that the group was coming, she ripped the binoculars out of his hands. If not the fact that he wasn't supposedly to kill her, yet. He would do it now, and also backstab three other ASIC member behind him, he once managed to 'Matador Stab' nearly entire BLU team in the Badwater facility once, getting a praise from the Administrator herself! (More like an insult directed towards BLU Team, but he ignores that fact.) But he won't take chances on blowing his cover for now. He will attack when he can deal maximum damage to the opponent, meanwhile he will try to gain as much information on the enemy as he can, because he have little-to-none. Besides the fact that Maxie or Linda aren't his type…

Maxie smirked, three females, perfectly matching the CFW Judge description. Perfect. However it appears that they have got some reinforcements, because she can clearly see eight others heavily armored males, obviously escorting them…

 _"…Mission begins in thirty seconds…"_

* * *

'Both teams' were standing on the bridge, as usual Maxie standing on the front, three other ASIC grunts armored with modern pistols and SMGs at her side. Six more grunts hiding in the buildings, ready to go out, these were CFW orders to capture these females dead or alive (but alive means getting higher pay from CFW Trick. Reason? They don't know, or care.) so they can't slack off now. Little did they know that there is a Spy right behind them, he can easily end atleast two lives before they have a chance to realize what is happening.

On the other waited RED Team, protective circle around females and Medic still maintained, Histoire is finally able to see the Medi-Gun in action, and true to Compa's word the mercenaries really starts to emit some funny crosses.

"Sorry guys, but you hafta pay the toll to get into the city, but we will also offer to check onto that unconscious lady there for free." Maxie stated, Engineer and Heavy shaken their heads.

"I'm afraid we can't do that, Ma'am."

"I won't pay to little lady."

Imaginary Administrator voice called out once again in mercenaries heads…

 _"…Mission begins in ten seconds…"_

"You can't, huh?" Maxie repeated silently. She snapped her fingers and all ASIC grunts plus RED Spy ran out of the hiding, holding various guns, melee weapons and two of them even light machine guns! Heavy Weapons Guy spun up his Minigun.

"[I am fully charged.]" Medic whispered, loud enough for only his team to hear.

"Care to repeat that? " Maxie voice grew low. Not even sign of fear on her as she braced her whip.

"… _Five…!"_

Compa and IF took this cue to ran to the nearby rocks for cover. Compa put the still unconscious Nepgear against the rock while IF readied her Katars.

"What? Ya deaf or something? We ain't gonna pay." Scout taunted.

"I think you should fight someone much, much smaller." Heavy joined in.

 _"…Four…!"_

"Okay, you shithead, I'm giving you the last chance, hand over your money AND the fucking girls. And you may even live long enough to get into the hospital." Maxie activated her 'Punishment Mode'.

 _"…Three…!"_

"I've slept in the corpse of water buffalo tougher than you!" Spat Sniper.

"Aye lad, she's really deaf!" Demo mocked.

"… _Two…!"_

Maxie's eye twitched.

"… _One…!"_

" **Fire!"** She yelled.

 _ **"Begin!"**_

On Maxie's cue the hell began. All ASIC members started firing their guns, most of them at mercenaries, however few at the IF and Compa. Mercenaries didn't even bother to hide behind the cover! due to Medic's reflexes he deployed Electro-Shield before first bullet connected to the firing Heavy.

Maxie quickly grabbed one of the grunts and pushed him in front of her. Taking all minigun's fire while she and rest of the group retreated to nearest cover.

Engineer and Sniper took the opportunity to get behind the rocks which IF and Compa are hiding behind. Engineer started to quickly re-build the dispenser while Sniper took down ASIC grunt near Maxie with fully-charged headshot, his entire body exploded which slightly spooked the female.

Maxie and ASIC grunt were pinned down by Heavy's minigun and Sniper. However due to Maxie's data tattoos which greatly increases her speed. She managed to retreat back to the building with only a bullet to the forearm, only to see two ASIC grunts fighting RED Spy in close quarter combat. Spy was winning but before he could kill the grunt Maxie whipped the Spy. To his surprise the attack caused 'Mini-Critical' damage. "C'mon, scum!" she yelled out, attacking again. However Spy only dodged another whip and activated his cloak…

Soldier used the Overheal and Electro-Shield to safely rocket jump and take the higher ground on the roof. However he didn't go unnoticed. "What the hell!? / On the roof!" Two grunts yelled out, firing at him and hitting him two times in the chest, head and right arm. He returned the favor by shooting a rocket at their feets which caused them to abandon their cover and get exposed to the Minigun's fire!

Demoman and Pyro used their explosive weapons to hide behind the cover and harass enemies, Demo blindly fired sticky bombs or grenades at covers while Pyromaniac took potshots with Scorch Shot flares, he managed to hit someone in the head with it, severely burning his face. "AAAArgh, ahhh… **AAAAAAAHHHHHH!** " the flare knocked him to the ground and landed on his chest then exploded, covering him entirely in flames and giving him slow and painful death as he fruitlessly tried to extinguish the flames.

Heavy ran out of ammo while Medic depleted his shield charge, however before ASIC could go out and shoot them they were shot in the back by Scout, or blown away by Soldier's rockets. The combo retreated to Engineer who's motioning them to come here. Heavy started refilling his Minigun while IF and Medic had a shouting match.

"What was that!? How the hell did you blocked them all!?" IF shouted.

"Zhe Electro-Shield, Fräulein." Medic replied, Overhealing a Sniper who was still searching for more shots.

"Doctor!" Heavy shouted, Medic nodded and ran back into the fight.

Scout was running and jumping around behind the enemy fragile lines, grunts were trying to hit him but to no avail. But when he finally fully reloaded again and took the aim he was hit by the red-eyed Maxie's whip right in the neck, then while he was flying towards her, she calculated, stepped to the side and kneed his stomach. "I will kill each and every one of you fuckers!" She yelled, grabbing the pistol nearby and shooting several times Scout's head and chest. He didn't survive that.

"Scout down!" Soldier yelled from the roofs, this didn't go unnoticed by grunts and Maxie who began shooting him, also killing him.

"Charge now, Doctor!" Heavy yelled.

"Jawohl."

Medic activated the Übercharge, both him and Heavy began glowing red and metallic sheen could be seen across their bodies and weapons, both Medic and Heavy's eyes turned yellow.

 **"Now is coward killing time!"**

Heavy and Medic started pushing towards the Scout and Soldier's active Reanimators. ASIC grunts and Maxie decided to hide themselves inside one the buildings, however Sniper caught another grunt in the head and Demoman got very lucky shot with the grenade, obliterating everyone besides Max with the Critical Hit! Which didn't do as much as against mercenaries with the Nano-Machines, but it was enough to fully gib three grunts and for the rest to lose few limbs and a lots of blood.

Maxie rushed back to the phone, if she can't capture the targets then atleast she can inform the CFWs. Maybe ASIC will intercept them inside the city. The two grunts were already dead with knife wounds on their spines, a perfect backstab. However as she ran her foot caught something and she fell to the ground. Her hand quickly spun around in order to hit something behind her with the whip. However the butterfly knife intercepted her robotic hand, the damage caused her to drop the whip and it was sent flying across from the room from the momentum, while the knife was stuck in her wrist, rendering her fist unusable.

She saw a RED Spy with quite nasty red mark on his face crouching over her, with his gloved hand gripping the butterfly knife. She kicked him away and prepared herself for the hand to hand combat.

"Who are you!?" She yelled. Spy spat the cigarette out of his mouth.

"None of your concern." He answered, reaching towards his suit. However Maxie quickly sent a straight jab with her right fist and sent her left fist into Spy's gut. While he was dazed she sent a kick into his face, which he quickly blocked by crossing his arms in front of his face! He slid across the room with his boots squeaking, but he did not lose his balance!

While Maxie distanced herself from Spy, she made a mistake of running to the phone instead continuing the fight, her plan was to use the 'Distress Signal' to the ASIC headquarters so they may intercept the targets inside the city before they get into the Basilicom…

However she didn't anticipate the Sapper attached to the phone, rendering it unusable…

But she did anticipate a gun inside Spy's suit. And she knew it was a gun because she has been just shot in the left shin...

IF and Compa slowly peeked from the rocks and their jaws dropped at the sight of slaughter.

First thing they noticed are lots of bodies, their sight locked onto two peculiar ones and ignored anything else…

Namely Scout's and Soldier's…

Scout have a nasty burn across his face, his skin nearly entirely torn on his right cheek, along with bullet wounds between his eyes and chest.

Soldier became a bloody Swiss Cheese. With lots of bullets holes on his chest, head (jaw specifically) arms and legs.

There were also few other things like a charred human body which was still burning here and there, the spot from Demo's Critical Grenade which left enough blood to literally fill medium-sized bathtub, along with occasional hand, leg, eyeball or brain piece here and there. Countless bullet dents (since the walls were hard enough to reflect bullets instead having them stuck inside) and bullet shells.

Both females ran toward dead bodies, ignoring the fact that they left Nepgear alone…

"A-are they okay!?" Compa asked the Medic. He gave no answer, Demoman motioned them to stay back.

Medic began firing his Medi-Gun beam into the Reanimator holograms, Histoire threw all her medical knowledge out of the window as she watched Scout and Soldier getting revived.

"I'm back baby!"

"I did not have permission to die!"

"Wait, it's over already?" Scout looked around and saw only dead bodies around. He and Soldier had wounds and even their clothes were repaired.

"Da, we can go to Planeptune now!" Heavy started eating his sandwich.

"Um. Uh… ah…" IF was at loss of words, same with Compa.

"Hey, chick speak up!"

"How are you alive!?" Compa shouted with teary eyes.

"Hey, hey! Are you crying?" Scout grew confused, his mind going behind to figure out if he did something wrong…

Was he rude to her…? He hopes not…

Did he hit her…? He can't remember…

Then why she's crying…?

…

Oh…

People doesn't usually die and then Re:Spawn…

"Hey! Don't cry, big chicks don't cry!" He (atleast tried) to comfort Compa. IF's brain was lagging so hard that she didn't even register that.

"Ladies, gentleman." Spy called out, new cigarette in his mouth. The females snapped out at his voice.

"I think you should hear this." He motioned for them to follow him into the building.

Inside the warehouse, right next to the communication set lied Maxie against the wall. Both her legs were shot by Spy's revolver, rendering her rooted to the spot unless she wants to be in much more pain than she's in now. Spy already took the needed data to create a disguise of her.

"You bastards." She growled weakly, her eyes back to normal blue color.

"Madame Histoire, what should we do with her?" Spy blew out the smoke, Maxie started coughing.

"Wow, Spy. I never thought you had a galls to hit a woman." Scout whistled.

"She didn't want to surrender." He sighed.

"I would like you to don't kill her, we could interrogate her for information about ASIC." Histoire ordered, Maxie chuckled, before turning it into hysterical laughter.

"Pffahahhahahahahaha! Do you morons have no brain? I won't stop so low to give you any information." She laughed while trying to stand up again, the pain sent few tears to her eyes. Histoire and IF winced. "We will pick her up later, could you ensure that she doesn't die to escape with these injuries?" Histy added. Engineer with the help of Heavy tied her writs to the legs on the couch while IF found the duck tape to gag her, Compa went to treat the bullet wounds but Medic did it first, by healing her with his Medi-Gun, enough to stop the bleeding, but not enough to fully heal the wounds and stop the pain. With her legs healed IF grabbed her kicking legs and taped them together…

"Mercenaries." Histoire called out as they got out of the building, she can't believe she's doing this. But she needs to do this.

"… **I have a job for all of you…"**

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **First Blood**

* * *

 **A/N: There it is, my first long battle moment, hope I didn't screw it up… I know that I said I won't be putting OC as important characters, but Maxie won't be an important character, she WILL be one of the Spy's disguises and I will throw some of scenes where Spy disguised as her will be interacting with Linda here and there. Also Medic will be experimenting on her and several other ASIC OCs but that's really it…**

 **About Maxie though, she was submitted by my old pal Appelflap64. Her name is based on 'Maxis', a subsidiary of EA. And she likes vehicles but fears spies and needles (giving me few comedy moments for Medic and Max scenes). Her tattoo lines greatly increases her speed and agility but more damage she takes the less they work (something like reversed Escape Plan without 'Mark for Death'). She loves to be in control (hence her 'Punishment Mode') and she hates being controlled or mocked. But she isn't stupid enough to misbehave towards 'people' like CFWs which can kill her even easier than mercenaries.**

 **If someone's ask how is 'The Alternate Beginning' going? I already have 2105 written words at the time of writing this.**

 **BTW. Here's how I rate the characters type from the weakest to strongest. Ordinary Human (IF, Linda) Non-HDD CPUs (Nepgear, Neptune) Mercenary (Scout, Spy) HDD CPU (Purple Heart, Purple Sister) CFW (Judge, Trick) Saxton Hale (Because Saxton HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALE!1)**

 **Respondes:**

 **Thaqif – Will disappoint you and some other people, but I did NOT watch Akame ga Kill… I have too many anime to watch on my list to add more stuff…**

 **BreadNotDead – Why don't ya download it then? It's free on steam. Also yes, their first encounter with ASIC turned out to be very violent and bloody. Their first encounter with CFW will be even more violent and bloody.**

 **P.S: Kudos for** **M76030 for grammar fixing.**


	4. Histy Meets Them All! (Part I)

I put it here because one person asked too many times for it...

17\. Don't suggest me any ideas for new fanfiction series, suggestions for fanfics I'm currently writing are fine but suggestions for new fanfics aren't fine.

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Histy Meets Them All! (Part I)**

* * *

The proposal was met with more awkwardness than Histoire hoped, but thankfully Engineer broke the silence and told IF and Compa to wait inside one of the buildings while they discussed it privately outside…

Histoire also asked them to come to the Basilicom tomorrow to discuss their payment, objective, restrictions etc. (if they agreed of course). She also had some questions to ask the mercenaries, and she's sure that IF, being a high-ranking Guild member, will have some questions of her own to add…

It was getting late, the sun was about set completely in fact, but they were now inside Planeptune and the rest of the path was illuminated, so the girls didn't need to fear getting lost or attacked by monsters anymore.

"Didn't you say that mercenaries have no morals?" IF raised an eyebrow, lying on a couch. She was actually in the same room where Spy overheard Maxie talking with CFW Judge. Maxie herself was moved… How, when, where? Histoire forgot to ask, nor did IF or Compa themselves notice.

"IF, did you see how easily they wiped out an entire warehouse full of ASIC grunts? These men are dangerous!" Histoire's face grew serious.

"Yes." IF gulped… The person Maxie used as a meatshield was literally ground to mincemeat! She shuddered at the very memory of it. "But if they're dangerous, then why hire them?"

"Because leaving them alone would bring dire consequences, and because Neptune isn't currently with us." The Oracle's face saddened. "Arresting them would bring heavy casualties we can't afford, not to mention that it would give them a reason to join ASIC, and with them on their side ASIC could easily take full control over Planeptune… But if we manage to hire and control these people, we could easily stop the production of Arfoire chips inside Planeptune, maybe even kick ASIC out entirely from the city." Histy continued to reason, and IF saw her point.

"Yeah, you're right. With the stuff their Medic has, they're pretty much undefeatable!" IF remembered the dead bodies of Soldier and Scout, who were obviously dead, but somehow the Doctor was able bring them back… There was also the Electro-Shield he deployed at the start which easily blocked all bullets from the grunts, yet let Heavy's minigun fire through it like it was nothing… And the Übercharge… IF didn't really see what it did, but according to Compa it made Heavy 'all shiny and they couldn't hurt him.'

"I really hope Medic will share his 'Medi-Gun' technology with us, we could revolutionize medicine all over Gamindustri with that!" Histoire mused with a smile, focusing on the bright side of this arrangement…

While IF and Histoire held their conversation, Compa lay on the other couch and had her own thoughts while waiting for the mercenaries' response. She was tired and sleepy which caused her to nearly fall asleep here and there, but she was still close enough to IF and Histoire to hear them talking and keep herself awake.

She was also thinking about the Medic…

No, not in romantic way… Like I said there won't be any romance between TF2 and HDN characters. It was because she finally found someone else with medical knowledge… ADVANCED medical knowledge that no one else had…

According to teachers at her school, reviving the dead was impossible. Once you're dead, it's game over.

Yet today she saw with her own two eyes, not one but TWO people, who were obviously dead… being brought back to life in mere seconds… That person achieved the impossible.

Maybe she could ask him to show her how to use the Medi-Gun?

Suddenly the doors opened and Engineer stood in the doorway…

"Hi Mister Engineer. How did it go?" Compa greeted with a warm smile, peeking over from the couch, almost as if there wasn't any brutal slaughter right outside the building…

"Hey y'all. So we voted… and we agreed to work for ya." Engineer waltzed in and handed a big black bulky plastic box with some kind of tape coiled up inside to a confused IF…

"…What is this thing? I've never seen something like this before…" The guild agent took the box and read the label written on it with black maker…

 **Meet the Team**

"Just some videos we were ordered to make." Engie shrugged. "Scout figured we should to give 'em to ya."

"I honestly didn't think I'd ever see one of these again…" Histoire's eyes widened with surprise.

"What is it, Miss Histoire?" Compa asked, looking curiously at the box over IF's shoulder.

"That is a VHS cassette, they were used to record videos long before the Purple-Ray disks we use today were invented." The fairy-like Oracle explained, "I'm surprised that someone still produces them… How did you get it?" She continued to query. Engineer wondered what these 'Purple-Ray disks' are, but decided not to ask…

"Found it inside the supplies we got." He answered truthfully, shrugging.

"Can we even watch that? I don't think we have anything old enough to support it…" IF wondered aloud as she hid the VHS into her coat pocket.

"It will require some searching, but I'm certain that I will find something inside the Basilicom. For now, IF, Compa, could you please carry Nepgear to the Basilicom?" Histoire requested, to which IF nodded and raised Nepgear onto her shoulder. It was her turn to do it afterall…

Right outside, things were getting lively. The mercenaries started moving their supplies to the warehouse complex, over one third of all the crates already moved to the building in the center. All the dead bodies (Maxie included, though not dead yet) were already neatly arranged and Medic was in the middle of salvaging any useable organs for his experiments, while unusable body parts were cut into pieces and thrown into buckets, soon to be burned or buried. While, perhaps luckily, IF and Compa didn't see them because all the bodies were moved behind the building so the blood on the floor wouldn't stain Medic's coat any further, MAXIE (now tied to the metal fence) could see everything, and she screamed, wriggled, tried to break herself free… but the ties were stronger. Eventually the Doctor had enough and knocked her unconscious.

However, IF and Compa did see a red spinny-glowy machine on which mercenaries jumped and then disappeared, only for another one to appear carrying a crate, bag or other container. Several mercenaries saw them leaving and some like Pyro or Scout waved to them. Spy on the other hand wanted to ask something before they set off.

"I see you're leaving now, but I want to ask something first. Where is this 'Basilicom' you spoke of?" Spy asked, yet another cigarette in his mouth.

"The Basilicom is the highest tower in Planeptune!" Compa pointed at the city, or at the very high tower in the middle of it to be exact. Spy simply whistled and nodded.

And with that, Compa waved goodbye to the mercenaries while IF opted for a simple nod, since both her hands were occupied, and the two headed back to the Basilicom first with the still unconscious Nepgear in tow.

* * *

The walk was uneventful, save for some casual chatter between the girls or occasional complaint from Compa due to her legs hurting from all that walking, it was a long and eventful journey afterall…

When the group FINALLY made it back to the Basilicom, they were greeted by the Basilicom staff and Histoire herself. The staff gently and carefully took the unconscious Nepgear off of IF's back (which she was very thankful for) and carried her to her room which was kept tidy and clean all these three long years. Histoire could finally see the tired and moderately dirty bodies of IF and Compa in full…

Besides the fact that IF was a little disheveled, with some of her brunette hair on the side missing and her blue coat dirtied, she was fine…

Compa was drenched in sweat, her clothes had dried blue stains from Dogoos here and there, but they could be easily cleaned in the laundry…

IF handed Histoire the VHS she received from Engineer with a heavy sigh... "Here Histy… keep it."

With a nod, Histy took the black cassette with her small, adorable hands. She actually already found everything she needed to play it… Looking down at the 'relic' in her hands, it almost amazed her. "Thank you. Would you like to watch it with me? I realize you girls are tired but-." IF cut Histoire off before she could continue.

"That's fine Histoire, but could we take a shower first?"

* * *

IF and Compa, being close and trusted friends of Nepgear and Neptune, Histoire saw no reason not to give them necessary time to clean themselves inside the guest rooms. It was already midnight and IF and Compa's houses were pretty far away, so Histoire also offered them to sleep inside the Basilicom for the night.

The room which Histoire, IF and Compa were going to be watching the material had already been prepared, equipped with a very advanced touchwall attached to a very old gray TV with a slot for VHS cassettes. Luckily the Basilicom staff already cleared the dust out of it, and said cassette was lying on the purple-tinted glass table in front of a big comfortable couch shaped like a U with various comfy pillows. On said table also lay two remotes, one very advanced and futuristic, the other as old as the gray TV.

Histoire was patiently waiting for Compa and IF to arrive for their 'Movie Night' as Compa jokingly called it. Hopefully this won't turn into some sort of prank made by the mercenaries…

…

…

After several minutes of waiting, one of the Basilicom Staff finally opened the doors for IF and Compa to go through.

IF was wearing only her tank top and short style one piece, her blue coat in the Basilicom laundry, while Compa still wore her usual clothes.

"Hi Histy, is everything ready?" Compa asked as she plonked herself down next to Histoire, right onto a soft pillow with a quiet *pomf*.

"Yes, just sit down and relax while I start the video." Histoire confirmed with a smile, motioning for IF to sit down too.

"I hope this won't turn out to be some sort of prank, Nep I'm so tired…" IF sighed, sitting down next to Compa and grabbing a pillow to hug.

Histoire pressed a button on the remote and the screen flickered to life, showing a countdown from three to zero, after which the video changed to a very detailed, a little too high-resolution for the times of VHS cassettes in fact, screen with the words…

Meet the Engineer

The video started with the Engineer casually playing guitar at night, sitting against a truck which bullets would strike against every few seconds, dangerously close to his head, but the man barely took notice as he introduced himself. "…Hey look, buddy. I'm an engineer, that means I solve problems." He said with a relaxed Texas accent, "Not problems like 'What is beauty', because that would fall within the purview of conundrums of philosophy. I solve practical problems." Meanwhile, though not on the screen, mechanical whirs could be heard from something in the background nearby.

"Umm, what's that counter for?" Compa wondered aloud, referring to a red jury-rigged counter sitting on a crate next to the Engie, one currently at two hundred and nine. As she asked that question, the hard-hatted man took a swig from his beer bottle while two high-pitched thumps rang out, followed by a scream of agony. The counter updated.

Two hundred and ten…

"I think it counts… kills…" IF sweatdropped.

"K-k-Kills!?" Compa repeated with wide eyes.

Histoire gulped and the video went on…

While the Engie continued his carefree self-introduction, one by one, each sentry gun was shown on the screen, a level one, then a level two, then a fully upgraded level three, each in turn gunning down someone off-screen with increased firepower. Finally as Engineer concluded his little speech with a dull threat, the camera panned out to show more of the battlefield and, to Histoire and IF's horror, showed just how many people were currently attacking and getting slaughtered by his Sentry Guns soon as they get in range, all while he's still casually playing guitar and drinking beer without a care in the world. Also, that light source which IF thought was a camp fire…

Was actually a burning corpse…

"Hold it." IF ordered, and Histoire pressed pause.

"What is it?" Compa asked.

"Look, isn't it strange that the mercenaries are attacking their own Engineer?" IF pointed at several visible corpses lying dead near the Engie, each identical to the Heavy, Spy, Soldier, Pyro and Demoman, except all wearing blue instead of red.

"Now that you mention it, weren't they ordered to make these? Maybe it's just for show?" Compa suggested.

"Perhaps, it could be they're simply acting. I would rather want to know how he managed to invent these turrets without any of us knowing of them… Were they never patented?" Histoire remarked before resuming the video.

The last scene showed the entire team posing and the words 'Reliable Excavation Demolition Mercenary Team.'

"A company name?" Compa questioned.

"I don't think there're any companies that work under that name…" IF's eyes narrowed.

"It's true, currently there are no demolition companies working in Planeptune… Besides, what kind of worker would switch their employer without a second thought? Even if they are mercenaries, shouldn't they have a contract?" Histoire also grew suspicious…

"Maybe the video's old, and they're unemployed now?" Compa suggested again.

"That sounds plausible, though I've still never heard of such a company…" Histoire admitted, while the cassette continued to the next video, titled 'Meet the Demoman' this time.

This one was far more action-packed, featuring clips of the black Scottish Demolitions Expert blowing things up and dodging explosions like it's an action movie, in between clips of an interview where he supposedly talks about what makes him 'a good Demoman', while being drunk and getting more drunk.

Histoire noted that he seems to be quite sore about losing one of his eyes ('T'all you fine dandies so proud, so cock-sure, prancin' aboot with your head full of eyeballs!') and the fact that he called himself a 'Black Scottish Cyclops'.

"He seems like a nice person, but drinking isn't healthy…" Compa commented.

"Well he seemed to be holding his liquor pretty well. He also sounded like he has chemistry knowledge." IF responded, referencing the abridged explosive formula he mentioned.

"Didn't either of you find it concerning that this person just blew up six people without a second thought?" Histoire raised an eyebrow.

"That IS kinda scary… but isn't it all just special effects?" IF had her turn trying to rationalize what they were seeing while Histy paused the cassette, "We know they were ordered to make these videos, maybe they're actually adverts for potential employers? That'd explain why they'd give it to us, and it makes sense for them to use special effects so it'd look more thrilling."

"Oh, oh! And they have the Medi-Gun, even if someone got hurt or even killed on set, they could just get revived, right?" Compa joined in.

"Fair enough. Even if they genuinely died there, we know they're alive now, so I suppose that's that." Histoire agreed with a sigh… Special effects or not, the three of them all bore witness to what they did to those ASIC grunts, these videos can't be much of an exaggeration from the truth. During this night alone she's seen more pain and death dealt by these men than most of the ASIC have been causing for years! Did she just offer employment to nine professional murderers? Most likely, but it's not like there's a better option…

The resume button was pressed, again the same ending screen came up and after three seconds of nothingness the screen showed another video.

This time the ladies got to Meet the Sniper… As the show started with Sniper driving his trailer down a road, instantly they commented on how primitive the area seems. As far as any of them know, no one uses power lines to transport electricity anymore, nor stationary telephone booths, which raises the question: Where do the mercenaries live? WHEN, for that matter…

As the video went on, the Sniper explained how 'Sniping's a good job, mate!' while driving his old-fashioned van or during clips of him in action, then later arguing with his dad on the phone over the difference between a 'crazed gunman' and an 'assassin'…

At one point the girls and even the Sniper himself winced when he shot the Demoman's whiskey bottle (while said Demoman was drinking) as collateral while sniping the Heavy, causing the Demo to flinch and jam the broken bottle into his one good eye… It got even better (or worse) as the blinded Demo panicked, rammed into a wall, causing the bottle to jam in even further, fired off grenades madly, then fell off the platform into a bunch of explosive barrels along with all the grenades that bounced back to him, resulting in one massive explosion…

"These are some next-level slapsticks, huh…" IF remarked with an awkward chuckle, "It's actually kind of funny, in a really morbid way…"

Compa mostly just felt sorry for the Demoman, and Histoire had to wonder about the sanity of whoever wrote the script for these supposed advertisement materials. Maybe she's just not one for schadenfreude…

Aside from that, the Sniper's ending remark made for a pretty apt summary of who he is.

"Feelings? Look mate, you know who has a lot of feelings? Blokes who bludgeon their wife to death with a golf trophy. Professionals, have standards. Be polite. Be efficient. Have a plan to kill everyone you meet."

…Well, it wasn't technically the ending remark. This time, after the ending pose, there was a short scene with Sniper telling his father to put his mum on the phone…

"This is getting weirder and weirder…" IF commented.

"What do you mean?" Compa asked.

"The cassette, power lines, stationary phones… and the fact that they said they aren't from here. It's almost like they're from the past and they somehow went into the future." IF theorized.

"I agree, the last time power lines or stationary phones were commonly used in Planeptune was over five hundred years ago!" Histoire exclaimed. Meanwhile, the next video was already playing in the background…

This time it was Heavy's turn. His video was relatively shorter and almost entirely consisted of a simple self-introduction, without the blood and death in the background this time, though Heavy talked more about his minigun than about himself. There were a few interesting facts for the girls to take note of though, most prominently: '…it costs four-hundred-thousand dollars to fire this weapons for twelve seconds…' Why this in particular?

"Histy, what are 'dollars'?" Compa scratched her head.

"I don't really know…" Histoire answered, as confused as the others.

"A currency, maybe? He did say 'it costs four-hundred-thousand dollars'." IF shrugged.

"That's a lot of money!" Compa exclaimed, not taking into account potential exchange rates.

"I would agree, but I've still never heard of such a currency before…" Histoire muttered in thought while the next video began.

Rather than a title card, this one started with Scout and Demoman, both badly injured with Scout heavily bandaged and Demoman in a wheelchair and cast, both trying to escape from a series of explosions, the source of which turned out to be rockets. The unluckier of the two, Scout was sent flying by several rockets, and IF and Histoire winced as he crashed into the camera, hard enough to break glass…

That segued into the title card, 'Meet the Medic', after which the camera panned into an operating room… and all the viewers' jaws went loose at the sight of Medic holding a severed heart while casually telling a grim yet silly story to the Heavy, who was awake, laughing with the Doctor, and had his ribs and internal organs exposed by a large hole over his torso. 'Ahahah… Anyway, that's how I lost my medical license.' The Heavy stopped laughing with the disturbing reveal, and a blood-stained dove even emerged from his innards, which an annoyed Medic shooed away, not because it could hurt the patient, but because 'It's filthy in there…'

"What…" IF.

"Impossible…" Histoire.

"I don't think he should be awake for this." Compa, with her expert medical knowledge.

The girls' jaws went straight to the floor when Medic then proceeded to explode Heavy's heart into pieces, albeit accidentally, and acted like it was nothing while opening the fridge to take a different, larger heart of something called a 'Mega-Baboon'… Histoire paused the video when she saw Spy's severed head, still alive and calmly asking for death, inside the refrigerator.

"Can we stop here? I don't think my stomach can handle more of this…" IF cringed at the sight of the refrigerator full of organs…

"If these are special effects, then they are very impressive ones…" Histoire had to close her eyes and shake her head a little, as if trying to shake the visions of gore out of her mind. A part of her wondered if a living severed head would be actually possible given the Medic's other feats, but for the sake of her own sanity she'll keep believing it's all faked…

"That doctor must be really good." Compa, being oblivious to a fault (or moderately insane hidden under that innocent exterior), could see no problems with anything that just transpired.

"How so?" Histoire questioned.

"Well, Heavy isn't dead yet, and good doctors always need to be prepared for any unexpected problems during surgery." Compa answered matter-of-factly, and neither Histy nor IF could find any flaws in her reasoning… so Histy simply resumed the video.

Medic attached the heart implant into the Mega-Baboon heart this time and, like with the previous heart that exploded immediately, placed it in front of the Medi-Gun beam. IF, Histoire and even the Heavy (understandable given the circumstances) grew nervous when Medic began 'healing' the heart while laughing maniacally, the organ beating faster and faster, until it suddenly stabilized and emitted the same glow and sheen that Compa saw during the Übercharge. The heart was then shoved unceremoniously back into Heavy's chest cavity, and Compa's eyes began to sparkle when Medic finished the surgery by fully healing Heavy in a matter of seconds, flesh, skin, and even cloth regrowing at an impossible rate!

"Oh my goddess…" Histoire's jaw went loose for the third time during the video.

"T-That fast!?" IF's eyes went wide as dinner plates.

"See? He's a good doctor after all!" Contrary to the others, Compa's face simply grew into a determined smile.

Afterwards the video showed Medic healing Scout and Demo just as quickly, then using Übercharge on Heavy to mow down an army of blue-wearing Soldiers, demonstrating the invulnerability when Heavy walked through a direct hit from a rocket without taking a scratch, all to an epic mix of rock-and-roll and an angelic choir.

"W-Wait, why are there so many Soldiers?" IF pointed out immediately.

"Maybe they're extra actors?"

"Hmm…" The brunette couldn't argue with Compa's logic, so she let the topic slide.

Then the ending screen and a bonus scene afterwards, showing the rest of the team lining up for what was probably the same surgery Heavy went through, with Scout's having just been finished, with some… minor complications. IF had to wonder if there really is a bird stuck in his guts…

The video after that was about Scout, showing him running through a fierce battlefield, talking (bragging) about himself with the 'Meet the Scout' title screen in the background, and beating Heavy to death with a baseball bat to steal his sandwich. Relatively generic of an introduction compared to the others with nothing strange, though IF pointed out that again, there was more than one Soldier, a red one and a blue one…

The next one took a more cinematic approach again, starting inside some kind of base with a woman's voice warning the (a?) blue Soldier about an intruder, namely a red Spy. He hurriedly took a shotgun and nearly fell down the stairs he was running down, meeting up with a blue Scout trying to open the door to a "Briefcase Room". Just as the Soldier typed a VERY TOP SECRET code (IF couldn't help but snicker at it) and unlocked the door, a blue-wearing Heavy rushed at them with his minigun and broke through said door before anyone could even put a hand on the handle.

"Now that's how you enter with style." IF sarcastically commented with a chuckle.

While the Scout expressed relief that the blue briefcase was still there (IF wondered what was kept inside that's so important it had a secured room dedicated to it), a blue Spy walked in with a body lugged over his shoulder. The title card appeared, reading 'Meet the Spy' as expected, and after the title screen the Spy asked if anyone killed a red Spy on the way there before dumping the body on the table, revealing it to be a dead Sniper with a familiar butterfly knife in his back. The Scout dismissed the intruder as being any kind of threat, and the Spy tried to convince him of the danger of this red Spy, to no immediate avail…

'What are you? President of his fan club?' the Scout asked mockingly, to which the Spy retorted with…

Photos of Scout's mother having sexual congress with the Spy, this one with a red balaclava still on…

Immediately IF covered Compa's eyes in an attempt to protect her innocence while her own face went red like a tomato, though her embarrassment went unseen in the dark room… Histoire this time was surprisingly unfazed.

And as usual, the footage moved on to the featured mercenary-in-red kicking everyone's asses (not literally) and showing what that merc specialized in, in this case sabotaging machines, close-quarters combat, and instantaneous perfect disguises. Histoire tried to imagine how Nepgear would react if she saw Spy disguising himself like that; that kind of technology would probably fascinate her to no end-

"GAH!" All three girls recoiled when the blue Spy's head exploded with zero warning. The Soldier had taken it upon himself to check for disguises, starting with the Spy, and his tool: A shotgun. Of course, he turned out to be wrong, the real red Spy having been someone else in the room, and the video ended with the blue team dead again while the red Spy collected the pornographic photos and left with the briefcase…

"Okay, pause."

"What is it, IF?" Histoire asked as she pressed the pause button again.

"This is the first time one of them referenced how there's more than one of themselves. We saw multiple Soldiers before, but the blue Spy talked about the red Spy like he's a completely different person…"

"That's true… Both of them also had the exact same mannerisms and physical stature… Maybe they're both played by Spy, neither of them are shown on-screen at the same time as each other."

"I guess that makes sense…" IF accepted the Oracle's theory and sighed. These videos are getting weirder and weirder…

The eighth video started with Pyro, Demoman and Heavy hanging around before getting blown up by rockets. IF correctly guessed that the Soldier will be the star of this video.

The man started by quoting someone called Sun Tzu, pacing in front of and lecturing a row of helmets similar to his own, but blue (Histoire assumed they're also other Soldiers, but why would the red one be lecturing the blues?).

"Who's Sun Tzu?" Compa again asked Histoire.

"Another thing I don't know, and that concerns me…"

"Maybe he's written somewhere in your book? It sounds like Soldier made him up anyway. 'Invented fighting', really?" IF suggested, shrugging

"Maybe. Even if he exists somewhere in my records though, it could take up to three days to find him that way. It'd be faster if we just ask Soldier directly." Histoire shook her head.

The red Soldier continued, mostly describing the almost nonsensical feats of this 'Sun Tzu' (who apparently used his fight money to get two of every animal on 'Earth', herded them onto a boat, and beat the crap out of every single one) rather than giving any actual advice, with scenes of the usual killing spree mixed in, showing Soldier killing the mercenaries' blue counterparts with everything he had. The girls have already seen enough bloodshed for a lifetime by then so Histoire simply muted the fight scenes and averted her gaze…

But nothing could save her from the horrific reveal at the end…

The helmets he was talking to weren't actually other Soldiers…

"…I should've seen this coming…" The Oracle groaned, feeling sick to her stomach.

"Props or not, anymore and I think I'm gonna be sick…" The guild agent covered her mouth, resisting the urge to vomit. Again, only Compa seems unaffected by the viscera, only widening her eyes a bit with a little "Oh…" of surprise.

"Well… I think there's only one left. This last one can't get any worse… Please?" IF begged to all that is good in this world.

…Sadly, her pleas weren't heard…

…Because the last one was…

…Hohohoho…

 **…Meet the Pyro…**

Unlike the others, this one actually showed brief interviews with other red-wearing mercenaries in between scenes of the Pyro walking towards an old desert town. From how the blue mercs ran in terror instead of fighting back (however futilely) as they did before every time, and the way even the red team members were talking about their own comrade, IF and Histoire could deduce that even they feared it…

Their fear was justified when the camera showed Pyro burning the entire town to the ground without a word, with the blue team stationed there getting brutally incinerated of course. The girls shuddered, the red Spy asked aloud the question in their minds: "One shudders to imagine what inhuman thoughts lie behind that mask. What dreams of chronic and sustained cruelty?"

As if to answer that question, the camera zoomed in and peered into the Pyromaniac's mask-covered eye, delving into his very mind, to see…

'Do you believe in magic~?'

The girls just… stared, trying to comprehend what they're witnessing. Without looking away from the screen (almost unable to), Compa slowly reached a hand to the side, hoping to find an Iffy to cuddle and comfort herself with, only to find that the guild agent was no longer there. At this, Compa was finally able to tear her eyes away from the screen to search for her friend; she found her standing in the doorway, a hand on the handle and halfway done opening it.

"I-Iffy, where are you going?"

"I've had enough for today, I don't want to see another menta-."

IF stopped speaking when the doors opened fully and she saw a very familiar person standing in the hallway, her hand already extended, suggesting she was also about to open the doors from her side. Both stared at each other for what seemed like centuries, which in reality were only seconds…

Eventually Histoire took notice of the commotion too and looked their way, wondering why the talking suddenly stopped.

"Umm, IF-."

 **"Gear!?"**

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Histy Meets Them All! (Part I)**

* * *

I finally got myself an editor! Kudos for MortalitasBoreali for editing and Appelflap64 and M76030 for grammar correction.

Cliffhanger with plot twist! Nepgear wakes up MUCH earlier than in the games, why? Mercenaries that's why.(Engineer and his dispenser specifically).

If someone don't know what's happening. Valve created a set of 'Meet the [name]' videos. Showcasing the said mercenary and giving us little more info on their character.

The next chapter will show mercenaries' side of the same time. I didn't include it in this chapter, because I wanted it to be more focused on HDN characters learning about mercenaries and their world, before anyone asks. Yes few of these questions will be answered in the mentioned interview. I will also bring cat outta the bag around that time.

Responds:

Bt200 – Ay, thanks mate!

Thaqif – See number 17 in the beginning of the chapter

BreadNotDead – Yes, Mercenaries can't really show any mercy, because they weren't trained to do so. They were hired in order to slaughter anyone opposing their employers without a second thought. The only thing which saved Compa and IF from their wrath was Spy's cleverness, quick thinking and gentleman manners. He knew that they're somewhere they don't know, and right before him were two females who seems to know the road.

MortalitasBorealis – Thank you, I'll take up your offer as the Beta-Reader.

Editor's note: MB here. This is my first time polishing someone else's work as a Beta-Reader, so please bear with me if I make some mistakes here or there. As a side note, in case you're unfamiliar with TF2, the Meet The Team videos actually do exist, and you can watch them in all their glory for yourself with a quick search on Youtube. On that note, I hope you enjoyed our combined work!


	5. Wrong Number

_18\. In case of emergency, break the fourth wall._

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Wrong Number**

* * *

After the two girls left the warehouse with their unconscious friend, Sniper pulled Spy aside for a private discussion. The two professional assassins could hear Medic right around the corner as they talked, doing his thing.

"Alright ya spook, wot was that?" Sniper pointed accusingly at Spy, who simply blew some cigarette smoke out of his mouth with irritation plastered on his face. Sniper wasn't pleased by the fact the wanker just blabbered his mouth to that blonde Sheila when she asked about their occupation, even though that Frenchie spook asked him to think up some other good excuse for an unknown heavily armed group who appeared out of nowhere with tons of random stuff and weapons (which they salvaged from the Decoy base and shipments from Mann Co.) and Sniper couldn't come up with anything.

"Quoi?" Spy raised an eyebrow.

"Toymaker teleports us 'ell we know, and first thing yer doing is getting all off 's ta accept some random job from some Sheila we just met without even telling the Administrator 'bout it." There wasn't anger or disappointment in Sniper's voice, just a simple honest question. Now that they have a choice between employers… and one of them WITH payment, maybe he will ditch Mann Co., depending on how much Histoire will pay and what they have to do. There is always a chance that scavenging cash from robots and splitting it between nine mercenaries might be worth more than the Basilicom are gonna pay them.

"Ooh, vunderbar!" Medic called out to himself from around the corner, holding a pair of blood-stained severed lungs in perfect condition in his hands, the Übersaw lying on the ground next to him. The other mercs paid him no mind.

"Bushman, tell me. What other choice did we have? We're somewhere we don't know, seeing mythical creatures that the Docteur would gladly cut apart to see what's inside, fighting against a criminal group I'm certain doesn't exist on Earth, and said group's leader had robotic limbs and a weapon that puts the Gunslinger (a crude but functional robotic hand made by the Engineer) and Gray Mann's army to shame. And this!" Spy spread his hand towards Planeptune, "Ridiculous I know…"

 **"…But I don't think we're on Earth anymore…"**

* * *

The Administrator clicked her tongue in annoyance. Everything is starting to crumble…

Saxton Hale is still being useless hunting his Yeti…

No signs of the RED ex-mercenaries. Surprisingly even the Suicide Command didn't work. It's like they vanished off the face of the Earth, and no matter how hard she and her contacts are looking, they can't find them…

Gray Mann actually managed to outsmart her! After Hale's ex-mercs disappeared from the Decoy base, the Carrier Tank was quick to return and sent one last wave of robots to assault the defenseless base, but to her curiosity instead of destroying it like they did the Teufort and Goldrush facilities, they captured it and began fortifying inside…

Transportation of Australium has been delayed because of the former Security Manager's incompetence… now he's under six feet of trouble.

On the bright side…

The project she's working on is proceeding smoothly, and when it's finished then nothing will stop her from ending this idiotic invasion and taking back what belongs to her…

Also while Miss Pauling failed to find the mercs, she quickly managed to gather a new team of morons to defend that idiot's other facilities. They even agreed for the same contract she gave the former RED team…

…Because after all, these morons are very alike…

* * *

Sniper tried to suppress his laughter, but failed and a quiet chuckle escaped his lips. Yeah he will admit it, it really sounds ridiculous, but after a good amount of consideration he realized there may be some truth to it.

That Sheila with the whip really surprised him, not everyone could match Scout's speed and agility, much less his reflexes after drinking tons of cans filled with BONK!, not even speaking about the fact that she managed to kill him AND Soldier with a few well-placed shots and one whip strike. Then there was the Dogoo, Sniper is absolutely certain that some weird monsters are living on earth, he even saw and helped kill one made out of bread (though that one's creation was mostly Soldier's fault), but he never heard of something so adorable and creepy at the same time, its eyes made it look so innocent while staring right into his soul…

…

…

…Actually that blonde Sheila also had a creepy, blank gaze while deep in thought…

And finally the city of Planeptune… Even though Sniper doesn't know much about geography outside Australia, he's absolutely certain that a city so large and advanced (on par or even surpassing Australia…) would have been a place of war between RED and BLU at least a few times, yet he never visited or heard about such a city before…

* * *

While the other mercenaries continued hauling their things to the warehouse, Engineer took his time to examine the sapped phone. Damn snakes and their sappers!

Surprisingly the circuits were fine, it seems that the only thing rendering it unusable was the sapper blocking the signal. It also didn't take a genius to notice that this phone was much more advanced than anything Engie has seen through in his entire life! His experience with already advanced Australian phones allowed him to quickly understand how this one works, but he can't help but feel fascinated by the fact that such a small device can be more advanced than an army of robots smart enough to shoot accurately, use a wide array of weaponry with expert skill and precision, and even deploy level three Sentry Guns and Teleporters with an efficiency that Engie dared say…

Surpassed him.

Spy already finished his private talk with Sniper, so he and Scout who decided to tag along tried to find said Engineer and ask about the progress on contacting Miss Pauling and informing her that they're quitting their job as Saxton Hale's mercenaries because they found a better employer. Afterall he didn't even pay them at all! Save for what they scavenged and occasional one-hundred bucks bonuses that they're sure Miss Pauling simply stole from their share when they weren't looking… If not for the fact that Gray Mann was actively searching and hunting them, even after they learned that Redmond Mann is dead and they're unemployed, they would join HIM.

"Yo hardhat! Can we talk to Miss Pauling now?" Scout spoke up just when Engie handed the disabled sapper back to Spy, who took it without a word. Before 'hardhat' could reply though, the phone rang…

…The name 'CFW Judge' was shown on the screen…

The phone gave him two choices, 'Answer' the call or 'Reject' it, and he doesn't know what he should do.

"Who's this pal?" Scout (now standing next to Engineer) asked, looking at the CFW Judge picture shown on the phone (It's that black machine with neon blue lining from 'First Meetings'.).

Spy reacted quickly by disguising himself as Maxie, it would be suspicious if they rejected the call and Spy could bet his money on that ASIC knows where they are. "Their boss, gimme that!" 'Maxie', already getting into character, ripped the phone out of the Texan's gloved hand as 'she' quietly sighed and put on a pokerface, mentally preparing himself. Spy's one hand pressed the 'Answer' button while the second one pressed a finger to his lips, indicating them to stay quiet. "Yes, sir? Maxie here." Spy smirked, his voice perfectly disguised as the ASIC lieutenant's.

"Is everything alright there!? We lost signal and I was about to go check your station out." Spy resisted the urge to click his tongue, sapping their communication probably wasn't the best idea, but there wasn't anything better to do at the time… Spy could also hear a sharp female gasp in the background, from experience he deduced it wasn't a gasp of pleasure but of pain… What the hell was Judge doing there?

"Yes, sir! We just had some thugs causing trouble. All clear now." Spy lied, hoping that CFW will buy that.

"Tsk, bunch of morons…" The robot muttered on the other end. "And what about them? Do you have them already!?" A series of loud clangs and then something like a pile of stuff falling down could be heard in the background, it was actually painful to hear. The clangs could be compared to both Demomen having a death battle using their Eyelanders. (Large bloodstained and battle-worn claymores reputed to be haunted by a bloodthirsty, malevolent spirit obsessed with decapitations.)

Spy had to quickly form a plan, even if a very stupid one…

"No sir! But if I may?" 'Maxie' asked. 'She' could almost picture Judge stopping what he was doing and turning towards him with a raised eyebrow.

"What?"

"We have a new face here, do you sir mind personally filling him out?" Spy looked at Scout, who awkwardly stared back, before realizing what he meant and started to rapidly shake his head and arms in a 'Nonononononononono!1!' fashion.

"Gimme him, her, whatever…" Judge grunted and Spy handed the phone to Scout who mouthed 'Screw you, Spy!' before placing the phone next to his ear like Spy did, only he did it upside-down by accident and it was too late to fix that. "Y-Yes, sir?" He began nervously.

"Now listen here, greenhorn." Scout felt slightly offended at CFW Judge's words. He opened his mouth to give him a piece of his mind, but Spy's glare shut him up.

"You have two things to do! One! Distribute Arfoire chips to anyone coming into the city. Two! Intercept two females who dared to let a CPU escape. One of them is a brunette in a blue coat, the other peach-blonde with a sweater, the CPU is that pathetic Candidate, even you weaklings shouldn't have a problem beating her. You got that, greenhorn!?" He shouted the last part. Scout bit his tongue in order to not say anything in confusion. It finally made sense…

Years of spending his time with Soldier taught Scout the easiest technique of getting bossy people off his back. Smile and nod, Scout, smile and nod… "Yes, sir." He said.

"I can't hear ya…"

"Yes, sir!" Scout shouted this time, and with that, CFW hung up.

Seeing Scout removing the phone from his ear, Spy asked, "Well?", to which Scout sighed bracing himself…

"…Those chicks were tailed…!"

* * *

While Spy and Engineer marked the information Scout managed to gather as 'useless', Medic already finished scavenging useable organs from all the dead bodies. He managed to gather a nice pair of lungs, a few hearts with only small pieces of meat missing because of bullets, and a functioning liver for Demoman, just in case, after that time when he drank so much alcohol that his liver literally left through his anus…

…

…

…Seriously his liver packed up its belongings and left, no joke…

On the more serious note. They now have to dispose of twelve buckets filled with already-in-pieces corpses before the police arrives…

Now that Doc thinks about it, why aren't they already here? They aren't that far from Planeptune so it's not like no one heard what happened, and surely they have some sort of peace-keeping force. Maybe Histoire pulled some strings here and there, she did say she's the Oracle of Planeptune, whatever that meant…

The mercenary looked around, his eyes searching for a particular fire-loving being. Maybe he's up for some barbecue. "Herr Pyro!" He yelled. The firebug in question popped its head out from behind the corner.

"Mmph?"

* * *

Even with Heavy's help, it took over an hour and a half for three mercenaries to transport eleven cadavers a fair distance from the warehouse complex to a good spot inside the forest... Mostly because Pyro had a great idea to kill two birds with one stone and cook a supper for the mercenaries, it is its week to cook afterall, meaning three ex-RED mercenaries had to transport twelve buckets filled with the remains of eleven people, cooking equipment, and obviously food.

The fire was pretty big, with all buckets' contents dumped unceremoniously into a big circle made out of rocks the Pyromaniac found nearby. The air was filled with the delicious smell of cooked meat, whatever it was from burning pieces of people, or stacks of various animal meat pieces impaled on various sticks Pyro (now wearing its floppy chef's toque blanche on its head and trying to whistle a song Soldier was seen and heard whistling all the times during ceasefire days in the Gravel War.) tried to balance so they won't fall or catch on fire.

Medic already returned to the warehouse, but Heavy out of concern for his fire-loving teammate decided to stay and help with the cooking. Even though the warehouse could still be seen from the human bonfire, and it was close by, only two rocket jumps away, it was still nice to have someone next to you to rely on in times of need…

* * *

As previously said, Spy and Engie considered the information Scout managed to learn as 'useless'. All they learned was what ASIC were doing here, or were. They're all dead, besides Maxie but she will be soon imprisoned…

However it didn't stop Scout from getting a little worried for their temporary companions. He liked their company (because they were hot chicks, DUH). "So what, we let 'em walk 'lone to that Plane-something with some knuckleheads trying to girl-nap 'em?" He asked, his voice raised a little, and the Texan just sighed.

"Sorry boy, but we have our own problems to deal with right now."

"Besides, we're occupying one of the entrances, if they're chased then we can stop their tail." Spy reassured Scout, still smoking his cigarette. "Ahem,-" Frenchie cleared his throat. "-Engineer, can we contact Madame Pauling or the Administrator now?"

Engie started poking the touch screen on the phone, trying to find the call function with little success. While Engie was playing with his phone, Scout took this moment to examine Maxie's whip, which was made out of some elastic material. "Did you notice it?" Spy took a step towards the runner. He could still remember the surprise and pain from the blow, but thankfully Medic had healed him already.

"Ya mean the critz? Yeah I felt that." Scout pressed the button on the handle and activated the whip, making the purple lines crackle with electricity before he shut it down again. Remembering how he died, the Scout grit his teeth. "[Stupid damn critz…]" He mouthed while throwing the now-deactivated whip further into the room.

* * *

It took Engineer over a quarter of an hour before he managed to pop up the 'Contacts' menu and figure out that's the call function, all while Spy has cloaked away and Scout's constantly asking 'Are you done yet?' every few seconds.

"Phew, got it." Engie called out, and Scout got up from the couch to walk over, waiting for him to start calling the Administrator.

"Finally! It took ya a damn quarter to call someone with a phone, genius…" Scout mockingly patted Engie on the head, causing him to growl and take the bait…

"Boy ya better shut yer trap 'fore-"

"Okay, don't get too excited now." Spy decloaked leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. "If you please, I would like you to contact Miss Pauling and inform her of our… change in employment."

Engie grunted, but said nothing, he just briefly glared at Scout before shifting his attention onto the phone and started typing the private Administrator number… 19992707…

Scout and Spy started to grow nervous, seeing the number the hardhat put into the phone they realized he's calling Helen, THE Administrator. Now they're having second thoughts about this entire thing with accepting Histoire's offer, but it's too late to back out…

 _"…The following number doesn't exist, please contact your phone service provider for more information…"_

Engie stared at the phone with a mix of awkwardness, confusion and surprise, before canceling the call, checking the numbers and trying again…

"…The following number doesn't exist, please contact your phone service provider for more information…"

The same monotone feminine voice was his answer. Scout and Spy looked at each other until the former gathered enough courage to speak up. "Yo Engie. What's up…?" Even with goggles covering his eyes, Engineer couldn't hide the confusion plastered on his face.

"Nothing." He shrugged.

"What nothing, did you contact the Administrator?" Spy demanded.

Engineer adjusted his hat trying to find the right words to say… He couldn't, so he opted for a better solution and gave the phone to Spy. "You try."

Spy did as he said, he checked the number and pressed the call. Getting the same message which confused him just as much…

"What the hell?"

* * *

Judging from the moon, already a quarter of the night has passed. Judging from Sniper's watch, it's still evening… The mercenaries decided it's best to eat the dinner Pyro and Heavy prepared and go to sleep, they will have to go to the Basilicom tomorrow afterall…

Everyone gathered inside the room dubbed the 'Spotter's room' since it's the same room where Spy gave Sniper the cue to attack. Pyro and Heavy already ate their own share, but they stayed because they need to discuss the circumstances they found themselves in, and also pass information on new developments Engineer found with Spy and Scout.

"Thanks Py, that's some good bacon right 'ere." Engie cheered, taking a bite of said delicious bacon. Pyro responded by giving the Texan a double thumbs up and Heavy cleared his throat. "Heavy helped too." Engie couldn't speak since he had his mouth full, so he thumbed up to the Russian, who closed his eyes, smiling at the appreciation.

"Aye lads, that's much better than what Sol was cookin'." Demoman took a swig of his whiskey, to which the previous team chef protested.

"Ya one-eyed cross-dressing son of a bitch! My meals are made of pure American freedom! Manliness! And bloody BLU bastards' flesh!" Soldier yelled, not caring that he had his mouth full of meat so parts of them fell to the ground.

Everyone fell silent at Soldier's words, the American who went back to eating his share felt the awkward gazes of his team and looked up. "What?"

"Ya gave us human meat to eat?" Scout asked with wide eyes, to which the Soldier slowly nodded, unsure what's wrong.

"Affirmative! So?"

"Nothing, just surprising." Medic went back to eating, as did most of the team, as if nothing was wrong. However Scout began panicking.

"Nothing? Nothing!? This sick bastard gave us HUMAN MEAT to eat for a FULL freakin' WEEK!" Scout stressed the 'human meat' and 'full week' parts to get his point across.

"You never noticed?" Spy raised his eyebrow.

"How could I? Bastard seasoned it good!" Scout defended himself.

"Well, what's past is past, Scout. Now eat."

"…Is there any human meat in this?" Scout looked at his plate, and the Pyro shook its head with a muffled "Nho."…

"…Oi Demo! Gimmie dat rib would ya…"

* * *

"Well…" Engie's mind was lagging, he didn't know where to start…

"That sounds like a bunch of bollocks, but it's true…" Sniper closed his eyes, deep in thought.

"We aren't on Earth anymore?" Heavy asked. Engie sighed, nodding.

"Seems like it, partner. Sounds weird but it may be true." The Texan mentally kicked himself for creating that teleporter. Because of him they're now in these… interesting circumstances… But if he has time to grief, he has time to fix it; his wife may have divorced him, but he's sure that some of his teammates have someone to see again back there…

"So… What now? Histoire?" The mercs looked at themselves. Years spent together made them know what each other's thinking with a single glance, most complex plans were exchanged with a single nod, eye contact, or hand gestures. They don't have anywhere else to go, Miss Pauling, Administrator and Saxton Hale aren't there to help them. It's only the nine of them in a new alien world. If they played their cards right and proceed with caution they might emerge victorious. If not… well, living as outlaws with hundreds or thousands of people killed isn't so bad neither, they're the best mercenaries in the world afterall!

Spy decided to speak what everyone else was thinking.

"Yes, tomorrow we're going to check Histoire's offer."

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Wrong Number**

* * *

Well, a short, maybe unnecessary chapter, it's there only to show mercenaries' side of the night. But I still enjoyed writing it, especially Soldier's cannibalism moment c: (I wonder how many people I engrossed by it.) Also Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract reached 1000 views! Thank you guys for your support!

Responds:

\- BreadNotDead - Gotta thank MortalitasBorealis here. He did amazing job on editing that chapter and added the special effect idea I overlooked (Oops xP) And yes Nepgear's awake, and she's going to personally Meet them All!

\- Piggyslayer1235 – THANK YOU AND caps plz.

\- Harmless Orange


	6. Calm Before the Storm

**Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Calm Before the Storm**

* * *

The CPU Candidate found herself struggling for breath. "C-Compa… I-IF…H-H-Histoire…Can't breathe…" Nepgear groaned, her purple eyes wincing from the pressure. It was a good pain though, as its source was a bear hug from three of her dear friends, the adorable Nurse-in-training, the tomboyish Guild agent, and the little fairy Oracle of Planeptune. Granted most of the pressure is from the former two, but the Candidate didn't think the fairy could be that strong until those little arms wrapped around one of her own.

Fortunately the girls realized they're choking their friend to death and backed off to give her some breathing room. "You're finally awake!" IF said with a warm smile, one similarly plastered on Compa's and Histoire's faces.

"We were so worried! You slept through the whole day!" Said Compa, relief very apparent in her voice.

"How do you feel?" Histoire asked. While she was smiling at Nepgear's swift recovery, there was still a hint of concern in her voice. Before the CPU Candidate could answer though, there was a scream of agony from the media room.

"Goodness, was that a person?!" Nepgear exclaimed with wide eyes. IF and Histoire sighed as they turned back towards the TV, but to their relief what they saw was only the usual screen with all the mercenaries posing, nothing… questionable. Until it cut to a scene of Pyro walking away from the burning remains of the town, and the camera went through a large hole in the Soldier's chest while panning backwards, said Soldier carrying his heart in his hands before dropping dead to the ground, his helmet rolling off his head while the camera continued to show the full scale of carnage.

"…Uhh, I didn't know you were watching a movie. Sorry, did I interrupt you?" Nepgear asked nervously, worry could be seen on her entire body as she put her two index fingers together in nervousness. She wasn't expecting her friends to have a taste in horror films, she knows she doesn't.

"Don't worry Nepgear, we already finished-" Histoire explained, only to perk up in confusion as the screen lit up again even after all nine introductions were over…

"Another one?" Compa asked, slamming her butt again on the pillow with a *pomf*.

"There's more?! Oh goddess why…" IF wailed in exaggerated despair, sitting next to her nurse friend and motioning for Nepgear to sit next to her. The Candidate didn't know what was happening, but she obeyed without a word regardless.

"I thought we'd seen all nine already? Did we miss someone…?" Histoire also sighed and sat right next to Nepgear, though for once she was more filled with curiosity than dread. What could this one be? An explanation of the mercenary team as a whole? Maybe this will tell them something about this "Reliable Excavation Demolition" company she's never heard of until now?

The screen started by showing the insides of a white refrigerator, along with a subtle buzz suggesting it's turned on. Its contents included a few bottles of beer, and sandwiches the girls have seen Heavy eating. Much to the girls' confusion the screen stayed that way for a few seconds before…

Meet the Sandvich

And like in the old cartoons, every girl's face (minus Nepgear who just blinked and stared confused) teleported itself to the floor. Not literally of course but Compa was dumbfounded, Histoire mouthed "What…?" under her breath, and IF slammed her palm on her forehead so hard it left a red mark.

"Pause." Compa called out. Histoire did so.

"This is obviously a joke now…" IF muttered.

"Yes, Compa?" The Oracle asked.

"Copyright omnomnom." Nurse-in-training pointed at the tiny words reading 'Copyright omnomnom' above 'A T.F. Industries Picture'. Nepgear gave a nervous smile and responded with an "I see what they did there", even though she still has no idea what they're supposed to be watching.

"Do we even have to watch this?" IF mumbled, but no one heard her and the resume button was pressed.

The screen went back to the refrigerator and a series of unmistakably Heavy's groans were heard, along with Scout's and Soldier's voices. "Yo, there he is!" "You! Stop where you are! That is an order!"

"Five credits Heavy will beat them up." IF crossed her arms.

Of course, Heavy wasn't listening to his pursuers, and before Soldier finished barking orders, the Heavy (not sure which color, since only his gloved hand and legs were visible through the door gap) already opened the refrigerator, took a slice of 'Sandvich', and slammed the door close. Soldier and Scout instantly switched their priorities from 'Catching Heavy' to 'Calm him down before he kills us all'…

"Umm, can someone tell me what's going on?" Nepgear asked, which IF replied by whispering "[After this video.]" Still confused, Nepgear nodded anyway and the video went on.

"Oh dear…" Histoire could almost picture Scout and Soldier backing off with their arms raised in surrender, but she knows how this will end…

And as expected…

"Oh god, oh my god ohmygodomy **god** -" Scout was cut off by the wet squelching sounds of Heavy beating him to a mushy pulp. "My blood! He-He punched out ALL my blood!" Scout was slammed somewhere, most likely near the refrigerator since the impact caused the doors to open and one of the beer bottles to roll out of the camera range.

"Ouch, that sounds painful." Nepgear winced, but Histoire simply patted her comfortingly on the hand.

"Don't worry, they'll be fine!" Compa reassured the CPU Candidate with a warm smile as well, and while the CPU Candidate looked around uncertainly, IF and Histoire simply sighed while the unseen violence continued.

Before Scout could even finish his screams of agony, the Heavy already moved on to the next target. "Ouch! Ouch, ouchouchouch. You call that breaking my spine!? You RED team ladies wouldn't know how to break a spine- **AHH MY SPINE!** " The Soldier's wails were accompanied by very imagination-inspiring sounds of bones snapping, and the final impact also caused the refrigerator to slam shut again. However when the door rebounded open, there was a pool of blood on the floor in front of it.

" **AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH** " A very high-pitched girly scream filled the air, but the audience will never know if that was Scout or Soldier, because the screen was quickly changed to…

"Sandwich blueprints?" IF muttered in exasperation with a face that said 'Seriously, guys?'

"Edible… device…" Nepgear sweatdropped, unsure how else to respond.

"New meat!" Compa cheerfully chirped.

"Plus one-hundred-and-twenty nutritional points included…" Histoire quoted, her face saying the same thing as IF's, only with more confusion and less irritation mixed with murderous intent. Her eyes quickly glanced through the "blueprint", which showed the sandwich was composed of almost every healthy food group, with each layer giving a certain numeric value of health. While that did look like a nutritious meal, even if she's not a doctor, she's fairly sure food and health does not work that way…

However that wasn't the end! The screen shifted into the same ending like in Meet the Heavy, but instead of Heavy firing his minigun in the middle of a raging battlefield, he's…

"Is he seriously eating a sandwich right now?" IF groaned, facepalming again. "This has to be a joke, it has to be!"

"Why does this look familiar?" Compa asked, her focus clearly on other things, and Histoire nodded.

"I believe this is the same ending as in 'Meet the Heavy', but… parodied, I guess?"

"What is this 'Meet the Heavy'?" Nepgear innocently asked, unaware of how much her friends were dreading that question. As both Compa and Histoire looked at each other, they collectively turned their gaze towards the guild agent. IF tried to silently push responsibility back to them but failed and awkwardly scratched her neck while trying to decide how to go about retelling the day's chaos. Finally though, she cleared her throat.

"You see…"

* * *

It took over thirty minutes for IF to finish recounting what happened after Nepgear passed out, even with skipping the details over a few parts like the slaughter the mercenaries created back in the warehouse complex. She did include Medic reviving Scout and Soldier, and Compa added a few bits here and there, healing Soldier's damaged foot after rocket jumping included.

Needless to say, it was hard for Nepgear to take in everything at once. Even IF realized that this entire thing sounded like a bunch of bull, and if not for the fact she saw it with her own two eyes, she would most likely just laugh if someone told her a similar story.

"Um… hmm… wow..." Nepgear managed to say, the amount of stuff that's happened even made her forget about those beautiful machines IF described. But only for a moment. "Wait, what was that about that… Dispenser, right?" The CPU Candidate completely and instantly recovered from shock the moment she remembered about them. She MUST ask that Engineer to show her how to make one of these 'Dispensers'.

IF sighed, she should have expected this. Compa simply smiled warmly and started explaining. "It's one of the machines their Engineer uses to support his team! Just like their Medic, it can heal any kind of wounds in just a few seconds!" Compa's eyes started sparkling… literally you could see sparkles appear from thin air around the blonde's eyes.

"Anyway, Nepgear, I want you to rest for now, said mercenaries should arrive tomorrow and we will discuss their contract then. I want you and IF to be there with me as we will discuss everything." Histoire requested, and IF crossed her arms while Compa pouted.

"I assume you will want me to report this to the Guild, like stated in the international laws."

"What about me?" Histoire ignored Compa's question.

"That's right IF. As much as I would want to keep it a secret so ASIC won't be able to prepare before it's too late, I think it would be more troublesome if I break the law set up by the Guild."

The Guild is much more complex than most common citizens give them credit for. The Guild has branches in all nations and they're what most people turn to if they have problems varying from simple delivery to monster extermination. Unless the 'Quest' is too much of a risk, it's visible to any citizen, freelance adventurer, guardsman etc., making it a nice way of earning extra profit.

However when a Quest is too much of a risk or too important to put in the hands of normal citizen, the Quest is handed to Guild members like IF.

Outside of helping the populace, the Guild is tasked with information gathering and helping each nation's Goddess. Guild members collect information about anything that may be a threat to their branch, the nation, Goddess or even the entire Gamindustri. The sole reason the ASIC were able to remain under the Guild's radar was because they snuck in with 'good intentions', helping people that no one wanted, the homeless, poor et cetera…

…No one would actually accuse charity workers of wanting world domination…

…And when the truth came out it was too late to stop it, their plan worked and the Goddesses were imprisoned…

* * *

As always, Soldier was very successful in waking up the entire team JUST at the right time… namely four in the morning. How? Obviously by loudly banging his favorite shovel against his helmet, while said helmet was on top of his head; yelling seemingly random insults directed at Nazis, communists, hippies and the Beatles, and compliments to America and everything that is related to it at the top of his lungs; and literally punching through the doors to the room where the mercenaries slept several times with his bare hands.

The slight difference from their usual routine was the fact that they had pretty comfortable furniture to sleep on. Back in the Gravel War and the Gray Mann Uprising, they had to sleep on the benches, crates filled with explosives or ammunition or even on the floor, though thankfully they still had their own bedrooms back then. However here all of them were sleeping inside different rooms and on the couches or even beds! With covers! A luxury their old employers didn't want to give them no matter what.

The team woke up easily and well rested. All team members learned early on that it was better to wake up on your own than have Soldier wake you up himself. Last time Soldier woke someone up, Medic had to waste over three hours fixing their neck after it got broken by Soldier, even the medigun alone wasn't enough. Sniper somehow surviving Soldier's famous 'NECK SNAP!' only made it harder to heal.

The mercenaries didn't mind actually, having nearly five hours of sleep is a real luxury for them! Back in the wars they were given less than four hours.

After breakfast (which were the remains of Pyro's barbecue) was (goddammit…) Soldier's training routine, involving racing, an obstacle course, and a good old-timey bar fight involving everyone wreaking total chaos while trying to knock each other out, like Heavy obliterating the unlucky Scout who decided that breaking an entire crate of beer over his head is good idea, and trying to knock THEMSELVES out by drinking so much alcohol that they passed out. Except Demoman and Spy, the former passed out way before they even began and the latter cloaked out of the battle, giving up like a true Frenchman!

The entire training routine took only an hour and a half. Recovering from the hangover took till seven A.M.

Finally the nine mercenaries left the warehouse, but not without properly securing their supplies with a dozen Sentry Guns (Engie really likes to have his stuff secured), building level three teleporters, double-checking their E.R.S.S., and with Soldier eyeing his team as they change into more… civilian… attire with more disgust than the Nazis' opinion on Jews.

If you can even call Mann Co.'s clothing line 'civilian', but the Soldier didn't care.

After another hour filled with arguments, several mercenaries respawning several times and countless death threats and insults later, Soldier was finally convinced that he's just disguising himself as a civilian. But his team will know the truth.

Scout didn't change much. He just wore the 'Track Terrorizer' painted with the R.E.D. version of the 'Operator's Overalls'.

Soldier's wearing a… 'Stout Shako'? (Demoman told him jokingly it was 'too refined', but the crazed patriot ignored it), the 'Bonedolier' and the 'Primeval Warrior' badge. (The American doesn't know the meaning of 'civilian' clothing.)

Pyro… wore its usual attire, only without grenades.

Demoman carries his bottles of whiskey inside the 'Liquor Locker' on his back. His usual grenades changed into the 'Battery Bandolier', and he's also wearing a 'Dead of Night' painted with 'A Distinctive Lack of Hue'.

Heavy took a more intimidating approach, the 'Eviction Notice' (a pair of brass knuckles with a flat grip and spikes on the bands) worn over his hands, along with the 'Heavy Lifter' to add bonus to his intimidation factor.

Engineer changed his hardhat to the 'Western Wear', loaded his 'Trash Toter' with necessary scrap metal and took the 'Idea Tube' filled with blueprints he 'borrowed' from his former job.

Medic only took the 'Couvre Corner' to his pocket and was departing with 'Archimedes' on his shoulder.

Sniper tried to be a little more normal, so he simply removed the bullets from his vest.

Spy, perhaps the second most sane individual in the team, wore the 'Blood Banker' and the 'Fancy Fedora'.

They agreed to not go out with all of their weaponry, taking only their secondary and melee default weapons and Reanimators. (Except Spy who equipped the L'Etranger, Sharp Dresser, 'Dead Ringer' (a gold-plated pocket watch with an engraving of a hummingbird on its lid, and a circular cloak display within) and sapper.) Given they were going out into a city and they didn't want to be caught carrying heavy weaponry… But they also didn't want to be completely defenseless, in case the ASIC somehow hunts them or some other trouble arrives.

* * *

"Well… I-I-I'm speechless guys. Just look at this city!" Scout put his hands on his hips.

The atmosphere in Planeptune is… mixed at best. On one side all you can see is a typical busy city, but if you let your eyes wander to the back alleys you will find groups of people who looks like you don't want to be around them.

To the mercenaries' surprise, only a few people even bat the eye at them, they could also see several people (mostly girls but there were some guys) in pretty unique clothing and carrying various weaponry. Mostly melee though.

"Okay civilians, where is the Basilicom!?" Soldier shouted, spitting 'civilians' as if it was poison and causing more eyes to land on him. Spy (disguised as IF, because he's Spy.) punched him on the shoulder with a sigh. "If you would use your brain you would know. It's that big tower."

"Vell then, Move! Schnell!" Medic called out, already walking towards the tower.

* * *

"Are we there yet?" Demoman asked. "Nein." Medic answered.

Getting to the Basilicom was harder than they expected. The mercenaries have spent an hour walking around the city with only a very tall tower to guide them, but the city was built in such a way that actually prevented them from making any real progress. "Man, it's like Steel base all over again." Scout grumbled.

Finally Spy had enough and swallowed up his pride to ask for directions, but not before going into an alley, cloaking in, redisguising himself as Maxie and cloaking out of the alley.

"Hey, you!" 'Maxie' grabbed the shoulder of one of the passers, a woman with rusty red hair with a hair band and orange eyes, wearing a blue and white jacket with gold accents and a white tank top underneath. Her skirt is white with thick strips of blue in the center and worn with a brown belt with gold details and a small orange and black pouch attached. Her hands coated in black fingerless gloves were carrying a guitar case.

"Yes? How can I help you?" The redhead asked with a smile, before noticing the ASIC emblem on 'Maxie's' breast pocket which caused said smile to drop. Her shifting and rising suspicion didn't go unnoticed by Spy, but he did nothing. "Can you point me to the Basilicom." It wasn't question, but a statement. However the redhead didn't seem to notice.

"Just take that path, go straight and then right. All the way to the Basilicom entrance." The female pointed her hand at the right path. Spy took mental notes and nodded. As he walked away he could still feel that female's glare at his back, causing him to tense and prepare the Dead Ringer in advance…

It wasn't curiosity but outright suspicion…

Perhaps taking IF's disguise would've been a better idea…

"At least the general direction should be right." The spook mumbled.

* * *

In the meantime, Histoire was doing some paperwork. Being an Oracle with no Goddess to help is really a tiresome task, even if said Goddess never worked at all even when she was here…

Only after she went to sleep did she realize she forgot to give the mercenaries some crucial details, like the time of the meeting or how to actually get there, she's sure they will be mad at her.

The Oracle sighed as she read the next report. Another batch of Arfoire chips were distributed in the city center, lowering the already low Planeptune's Shares.

The next report surprised her however. The police caught a famous redhead adventurer for the assault of said ASIC members distributing the chips. She chuckled as she sent the police order to release that adventurer.

Suddenly the door to her office opened, and the anxious face of Nepgear popped in from the doorway. "Um, Histoire…? A-Are you busy?"

The Oracle simply smiled politely. "Hello Nepgear, did you sleep well?"

The CPU Candidate looked away. "Y-Yes, but… I-I'm sorry. It's my fault that my sister got captured. If only I was-" Tears were threatening to fall from the lilac-haired girl's eyes, but her Oracle cut her off.

"Nepgear, please sit down." Histy motioned for Nepgear to sit at the sole chair on the opposite side of her desk, and the depressed girl obeyed without a word.

"Don't blame yourself for what happened. Ultimately it was my fault for sending you five to the Gamindustri Graveyard." Histoire gave the CPU Candidate a serious look which soon saddened. "If anything, you should blame me for not realizing what danger lay ahead."

Nepgear's eyes widened. "N-no! I could never blame you for anything! It was my fault! While sis and the other CPUs were getting beaten by her, I-I couldn't do anything to save them!" She shouted, the first time Histoire ever heard Nepgear raise her voice.

In the hallway right outside Histoire's office, IF and Compa overheard their conversation. "Poor Ge-Ge. She must really be taking it hard." Compa said sadly.

"Jeez, just who's this enemy to beat five CPUs to the ground?" IF muttered.

"It shouldn't be me who was saved! If sis, Noire, Blanc or Vert were saved before me, they would easily have beaten that machine back then! But no! I just had to blow it all up and-"

"Enough!" Histoire shouted, causing Nepgear to flinch. The Oracle took a deep breath. "It must be hard for you, being the only one who was rescued. But you can't give in to despair. The other CPUs are still out there, alive and waiting for rescue. Now with you around, we can much easier collect shares to rescue the rest of the CPUs. So please, don't cry." Histoire smiled.

Before Nepgear could say anything IF stepped into the room as well, with Compa at her side. "She's right, you know." Both CPU Candidate and Oracle looked at the newcomers.

"I-IF?" Nepgear asked.

"If you have time to be depressed then you have time to stand up and be strong. So wipe off those tears because it's not over yet! Those three years were hell, you know, but we did manage to make progress and save you." IF blocked the memories of more… difficult moments from her mind, and grabbed Nepgear by the collar. Making Nepgear yelp in surprise and lock her eyes with IF's as she glared at her.

"I-IF!? W-What are you-?"

"Will you let you our sacrifice go to waste!?"

"N-No."

"Will you let Nep rot captured and imprisoned!?"

"N-No."

"Will you go out there and save her!?"

"Y-Yes."

"Louder!"

"Yes!"

IF grinned and let the now comforted and more determined Nepgear go. "Good. Right after we recruit these mercenaries we will begin." The guild agent announced, and Nepgear vigorously nodded.

"Good work, Iffy! Ge-Ge looks better now!" Compa cheered. IF smiled at her and turned to Planeptune's Oracle, who finished speaking with the receptionist and cleared her throat.

"About the mercenaries… it seems they have arrived."

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Calm Before the Storm**

* * *

And there we have it! Last chapter before 'Histy Meets Them All' Part II. Well that took pretty long. But then again the school just started which will really slow my writing down.

I hope you liked the last scene with Nepgear. Some may think it's little too early but I think Nepgear wouldn't actually do anything while she was depressed. So I needed someone to knock some sense into her.

If some is wondering. Yes that's Falcom in both scenes where Spy is asking for direction and her getting caught by the police.

BTW: Bloody hell listening right music really makes writing much different .-.

Responses:

\- BreadNotDead

I like doing gore scenes, I assure you cannibalism won't be the worst thing you will read here. I have more suffering in plans.

\- Appelflap64

I hope I lived to your expectations in this chapter too , but I don't think we will see much Maxie in next episodes.

\- Harmless Orange

Editor's Note: Mortalitas here. Finally another chapter done and released! If you're curious what any of the 'civilian' clothes worn by the mercs look like, you'll have to search them up on the TF2 wiki. That's it for now, until next time!


	7. Histy Meets Them All! (Part II)

_Little to no action here. Just entire chapter with characters talking with themselves._

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Histy Meets Them All! (Part II)**

* * *

With some of the Basilicom staff as an escort, Histoire, IF and Nepgear were walking down the halls of Planeptune Tower towards to the meeting room where the mercenaries were asked to wait. One of the staff was carrying a briefcase with ready contracts for them.

Somewhat disappointed, Compa was stalking back towards her own guest room. She wasn't one to hold a grudge against her friends, so she decided to kill some time by going back to her room and study CPR some more. The nurse-in-training decided to ask their Medic after the negotiations, right when they'll start planning how they'll save the goddesses.

The meeting room was a long rectangular room with a purplish long table and twenty four comfortable chairs around it. From the windows you could see the entire west part of Planeptune and a little of the Virtua Forest. Spy, who's smoking right next to an open one even spotted the warehouse complex they temporarily set themselves in.

At first the mercenaries were pretty amazed by the advanced technology of the tower. Engineer briefly wondered what the 'touchwall' in the room was for. However the awe didn't last long, and the mercs soon began to feel bored. Scout started doing the 'Battin' a Thousand' trick with his bat to pass the time. Sniper took a nap with his hat pulled over his eyes. Heavy Weapons Guy and Demolition Man were eating a Sandvich and drinking whiskey respectively. Surprisingly Soldier is waiting patiently in his chair with crossed arms. Engineer stopped examining the touchwall and started playing 'More Gun' on his guitar while Medic was playing with Archimedes. And as always, Pyro was playing with its lighter.

Just then the doors opened and the fairy Oracle hovered into the room, with Nepgear and IF at her side, the latter also carrying stacks of paper. The mercenaries stopped whatever they were doing, with the Spy taking his last breath of smoke before tossing it out the window…

The wind will carry these remains towards one of the many parks in Planeptune. When an unlucky girl who's been having another despairingly bad day decides to eat her meal outside, by some divine will, the cigarette will miraculously land right onto her meal, pushing her one more step deeper into depression, and one more step towards ending it all. The End.

The mercenaries awkwardly stared at the small flying Oracle. In return the girls awkwardly stared at Soldier's… attire.

'Fascinating. I've never seen such a small human, if she even IZ a human. And the book she's sitting on is even flying!' Medic noted.

'Hmm…' Spy.

"[I ain't never seen fairies before. Wonder if she grants wishes.]" Scout muttered as he eyed Histoire.

'She is so bloody TINY! She's like a toy-sized version of a lassie!' Demoman thought as his eye landed on the lilac-haired girl who entered alongside Histoire. He recognized her easy. "Aye, yer that sleepin' lass from yesterday. Cheers for ya recovery!" The drunk Demolition Man said before deciding to get himself even more drunk with his seemingly bottomless whiskey bottle.

The CPU Candidate perked up at being mentioned and immediately looked guilty. "Huh? Oh, right. Sorry to cause you trouble…" She apologized, putting her two index fingers together.

'Her confidence sure fades fast…' Histoire thought, a bit disappointed.

"It's nothin'." Engineer shrugged off her comment. His hands stopped playing the guitar and the item in question was placed right next to him.

"Well, we were expecting you, Madame… Histoire." Spy awkwardly said as he also eyed the Oracle. "But what of Mademoiselle IF and..." Spy waited for Nepgear to introduce herself. She quickly took the cue.

"I'm Planeptune's CPU Candidate! Nepgear! Pleased to meet you, Mister…"

"Call me Spy."

"CPU? What's that?" Scout asked aloud.

'There goes their lack of knowledge again.' IF noted.

"CPUs, or Console Patron Units are the goddesses who govern and protect their nations. Here in Planeptune we have two CPUs, Purple Heart Neptune, and Purple Sister Nepgear." Histoire explained, while silently thinking to herself. 'This confirms my theory…'

"I'm not yet a full-fledged CPU yet. Only a candidate." Nepgear corrected.

"[I'm surprised they don't even know that much. For mercenaries they're seriously dumb…]" IF muttered under her breath.

"I see, then where is this Neptune?" The Oracle and CPU Candidate's faces sadden at Spy's words. It didn't go unnoticed by the mercenaries.

"Neptune is… captured." IF told them the bad news, though it was news to no one but the mercenaries. Nepgear fought off the tears while Histoire intensified her grip on the book she's sitting on.

"I see." Spy emotionlessly noted, just another fact to remember. The French spook tried to take another cigarette from his kit, but Histoire wasn't keen for that to happen.

"Spy, I ask you not to smoke inside the Basilicom."

"But Madame Histoire. I have an illness that requires me to smoke constantly. Our Doctor can vouch for that." Spy bluffed, gesturing to the Medic of the team, who just shook his head with a smirk and snatched the cigarette out of the Frenchman's lips.

"I'm ze Medic of this team, and my here colleague iz simply an addict." Not feeling like playing along, the German threw the lit cigarette over his shoulder with perfect precision, right out the window, causing the spook glare daggers at him.

"Et tu, Brutus? First the amusement park, now here!?" Spy wailed in despair before composing himself. "Ahem, Mademoiselle IF."

'Medic's name is Brutus? That's a pretty unique name.' Histoire noted. **[A/N: That's not his name. That's a reference you have to look it up.]**

'He sure recovered fast…' IF sweatdropped, then cleared her throat to answer. "Well I'm here to act as the witness and report this contract to the Guild."

"And what exactly will you tell them?" Questioned Spy.

"Copies of contracts, name or nicknames of the employer and employee, and other details if necessary. Satisfied?" IF placed her hand on her hip.

"Yes, thank you. And you Mademoiselle Nepgear?" Spy looked at the supposed Goddess candidate who was awkwardly playing with her index fingers again.

"W-Well, we'll discuss our plans for saving my sister, so it seemed appropriate for me to come."

"I see." Spy sat back down, and Histoire cleared her throat.

"Shall we begin then?"

As the acting leader of the mercenary team for the negotiations, Spy nodded. "I have no objections."

"Good. First of all, for my and Nepgear's sake, I would like you to re-introduce yourselves. We only briefly talked via N-Gear after all, and the videos you provided were a little… unclear..." The fairy motioned to the closest mercenary, who happened to be Heavy.

"I am Heavy Weapons Guy. I have minigun named Sasha." Nepgear's eyes widened a bit as the Russian introduced himself. Not only was he ridiculously huge but he's also carrying a Minigun? Where is it? Nepgear can't see it.

"I'm this team's Engineer, ma'am." The next merc tipped his hat in greeting, this one getting a much bigger reaction from the Candidate.

"Oh, you're the Engineer? Can you please show me how to build those dispensers I heard about?" Nepgear instantly switched to 'fangirl' mode and stood near Engineer with sparkling eyes.

"[Seems like ya got a fangirl, hardhat.]" Scout teasingly whispered, earning a few chuckles from the team, but Engineer paid them no mind as he tried to pry Nepgear off from his personal space…

"Leader of this team reporting for duty!" Soldier stood up and saluted, causing Nepgear to flinch under the loud booming voice and Demoman to angrily drink his whiskey before putting it down.

"Now listen here yah wee shit. Yer no leader, yer just a Soldier. And I'm the Demoman here lassies."

"That stands for Demolitions Man." The Australian explained upon seeing the mild confusion on Nepgear's face, "Anyway, g'day mate, I'm Sniper, and-"

"And I throw piss at people."

The Scout took his chance to interrupt him, earning another greater wave of chuckles and laughter as the mercenaries tried to hide their amusement, while the only females in the room widened their eyes with faces that said 'What the hell' and all of them saying "What…?" at the same time. Except for the Oracle, who by this point had used the videos as personality analysis and figured the Scout was the resident prankster. Sure she's seen jars of the stuff fill up in Sniper's own video, one of the less 'glamorous' parts of the job, but surely-

"None of you blokes seemed to mind when yer on fire." Sniper grumbled, restraining his embarrassment and anger. Histoire just blanched. So he did… as an extinguisher…? Well, maybe it was one bizarre incident that his friends will never let him live down… Surely it can't be a regular-

Before the fairy could continue that thought, an awkward whimper from a certain Candidate brought her back to reality. "Well now." Scout's arm had wrapped itself around Nepgear's shoulders, making her extremely uncomfortable and causing both Histoire and IF to glare daggers at him, but he didn't notice any of that. This was his time to impress the ladies afterall. "I'm the Scout, the coolest and most important member of the team and-"

"And I read porn, wank into a jar, and throw THAT at people."

If Scout had any chance of getting any good first impression in Nepgear's eyes, Sniper completely and absolutely obliterated it. And shattered any kind of reputation in IF's eyes while he's at it. Instead of waves of chuckles like before, full-out laughter flooded the room, with the loudest and most embarrassing one being from the mild-mannered Spy of all people (snorts and all.). IF eyed the Scout with complete disgust, simply believing it as she considered no act beneath these psychopaths, while Histoire looked both grossed out and confused, unsure if that was a joke in bad taste or a story she REALLY didn't want to know about. Nepgear politely distanced herself from Scout and whispered to the Oracle.

"[Um, Histoire? Are you sure about hiring these guys?]"

"[If I didn't see what happened yesterday, I would have my doubts, but as it stands…]" Histoire sweatdropped…

"[The warehouses?]" Nepgear pried, not realizing what kinds of flashbacks Histoire is having.

Meanwhile, Scout was death-glaring Sniper while the Australian taunted with a victorious smirk on his face. "How do you like that, ya snotty little mongrel?"

"[I'm gonna kill you, chucklehead…]" Scout mouthed.

IF coughed, hoping she could bring the meeting back on track. "L-Let's continue." There's still marks of disgust from the previous reveal but she calmed herself, but Scout is sure she won't forget this information anytime soon, however false it is…

"Pyho." Pyromaniac mumbled.

"Um, come again?" Nepgear tilted her head.

"That's Pyro, Miss Nepgear. Its loves fire." Engineer explained, the girl in question slightly blushing at 'Miss'.

"Oh. Is… Is that all?"

"I assure you, that's all you need and want to know." The Spy gave her a look, and the fuzzy feelings vanished for the Candidate as she eyed the masked being with newfound nervousness.

"That's all of you then, so I guess it's my turn now. I am Histoire, the Oracle of Planeptune." Histoire re-introduced herself.

"Yes! Ma'am!" The American patriot stood up straight and saluted.

"Umm, at ease, Soldier." The cute little fairy said, sweatdropping.

"Yes! Ma'am!" Soldier saluted again and sat back down.

"Ye don't need to salute-" Demoman began before finding himself at the gunpoint of Soldier's shotgun. The females started to panic while the mercs paid them no mind, besides the Doctor who readied his Medi-Gun if necessary.

"S-SOLDIER?!" "Wait, calm down, please! W-Why aren't any of you doing something? ?" The Oracle frantically asked while IF and Nepgear froze in shock, too surprised by the turn of events and scared of the mercs to interfere, but the mercenaries just looked annoyed.

"Here we go again…" Engie groaned, shaking his head while the crazed patriot began his 'lecture'.

"I will not tolerate a Cyclops Englishman with a dress giving me orders! While you were dressing like a woman I was in Poland, fighting for freedom and killing every communist and Nazi-."

"ENOUGH!"

The Soldier quickly found his back penetrated with countless syringes from Medic's Syringe Gun, who took it even when the mercs agreed to take only their secondary weapons, justified as the Medi-Gun wasn't exactly helpful for self-defense. Or putting a psychotic patriot down for that matter. The liquids inside quickly took effect and Soldier fell to the floor, his head hitting the cold floor.

Histoire looked at Medic's face and saw… Rage. Pure, blazing rage in his eyes before he took a deep breath and calmed himself down. These mercenaries really don't get along with each other, she noted silently.

Nepgear was shivering as she looked at Medic holstering his Syringe Gun back inside his coat. Then her shaking eyes landed on the sprawled body of Soldier. "I-Is he…?"

"Nah, he's too stubborn to die." Demo said with a tone so casual it's like this sort of thing happens every week.

"These are tranquilizers, Fräulein." The German assured as well. Nepgear felt slightly relieved by this, but she couldn't help but feel pretty scared nonetheless. That man, their own Medic, was the one who pulled the trigger and shot his teammate. Without hesitation. Even if those were tranqs, that many needles could not have been harmless. And to be honest, what even were those 'communists' and… 'Nazis' was it?

"Umm, Medic. Will he be getting up soon?" IF asked, recovering a little faster than the Candidate.

"Ja-"

Soldier's Reanimator kicked in.

Confused, Medic checked the syringes he loaded while at the same time Scout casually called out. "Um doc. You sure he's gonna get up soon? Cus he's kinda, y'know, dead." The mercenaries looked at their dead comrade's body with varying amounts of mild amusement and surprise while poor Nepgear's eyes went wide.

"D-Dead!?" She cried out in a hoarse whisper, looking down at Soldier's body and ignoring the weird red hologram for now. There's no way he could be dead, she didn't just watch someone die, did she…?

While the Candidate continued her silent freak out, Medic inspected one of the syringes and found it loaded with pink liquid. Ah, that explains that. Miss Pauling was very fond of these. Afterall, melting them was a very efficient and effective way to dispose of bodies.

In other words, Medic had accidently pelted Soldier with over ten syringes full of highly acidic liquid, with two of them hitting vital areas. Not only was Soldier dead, he's also slowly melting from inside…

Ouch?

Ouch.

"Vell, I guess these aren't tranquilizers…" Medic shrugged and reached for his Medi-Gun.

"M-Medic, you ARE going to revive him, right?" IF gave a nervous smile, hoping that he WILL use that Medi-Gun to bring him back… It made sense for him to do that, but at this point the madmen were too unpredictable for her.

"H-He's dead… He's really dead…" Nepgear muttered in disbelief in the meantime. Out of curiosity IF snapped her fingers in front of the traumatized Nepgear's face, but the lilac-haired girl gave no response, much to IF's concern.

"Ja, ja… dummkopf…" Medic muttered as he began reviving his dead teammate. Before the end of the minute, the American was back on his feet, and still angry as ever.

"Which one of you numbnuts just killed your own Soldier!?" The Soldier snarled pointing at each and every one of the maggots present at the meeting.

"Soldier, please return to your seat." Histoire ordered, hiding the slight intimidation she's feeling. To her surprise he dropped his shoulders and obeyed.

"Yes. Ma'am."

'I didn't think that would actually work… Maybe he responds well to established authority? That might actually make him the easiest to handle...' The Oracle mused, though her relief was short-lived as the Candidate's freak-out intensified.

"Wha-Wha-Wha-WHAT!?" Nepgear finally yelped, her brain still lagging from all that she just witnessed. "S-So that was true? Y-You really can bring people back from death!?" Nepgear's shaking eyes landed on Medic.

"Да, If tiny baby men kill us, Doctor can give us life again." Confirmed Heavy.

"That's… THAT'S AMAZING!" And just like that, Nepgear's terror gave way to her 'fangirl' mode again. Before any more shenanigans happened though, the Spy decided to cut in, figuratively.

"Ahem." Spy coughed. "Shall we?"

* * *

"Miss Pauling."

"Y-Yes?"

"I take it you've prepared my workforce for the upcoming assault?"

"Yes, everyone is informed about the plan and prepared. Like you ordered, Administrator. We're ready to move out as scheduled."

The Administrator hung up and allowed a tiny smirk to find its way onto her face. If her intel is correct, the Decoy base should be destroyed by now, but ex-RED Engineer's teleporter should be still there, ready to use.

A normal, useless person would have given up by now, after a month of fruitless searching for a bunch of people that may or may not be even alive. But she isn't normal, she's stubborn, and she won't stop until she leaves no loose ends. Even if it meant hunting nine undead people through the entire globe.

The plan is simple, leave six people to defend the next target of Gray Man's assault, the Rottenburg city, and remaining three, plus Miss Pauling and Saxton Hale who just got back, will investigate the Decoy base. While Gray Mann's trying to destroy yet another Mann Co. facility she will kill two birds with one stone and both tie the remaining loose end and get her forces into unguarded Carrier Tank, something she couldn't do at all till now.

…She took another cigarette…

.

.

.

"…Let's see if you're still worthy, Miss Pauling..."

* * *

"Before we begin, I would like to confirm one last thing." Histoire began, meticulously choosing the right words.

"Yeah?" Engie asked.

"I realize this may sound crazy, but-"

"To the point, Madame Histoire." Spy said. The Planeptune oracle nodded.

"Did you… travel through time...?"

Both Nepgear and IF looked at Histoire as if she just grown taller than them, while the mercenaries looked at themselves with faces that said 'Well. I guess the jigs is up'.

"T-Time travel!? Histoire, don't you think that is a little farfetched?" Nepgear remarked in disbelief, as did IF.

"Jeez Histoire, I was just joking back there. I didn't think you'd take it so seriously."

The fairy oracle shook her head though. "But it fits. Think about it, their lack of knowledge of common information, outdated weaponry, the Meet the Team videos and how they appeared from thin air in Virtua Forest." She reasoned, getting through to the two girls.

Meanwhile the mercenaries were using their ridiculous "psychic" connection to quietly vote.

[Should we tell 'em? I say we tell 'em.] Scout.

[Да, I agree.] Heavy.

[Let's show this world how real men fight!] Soldier.

[*Stare…*] Pyromaniac.

[I'm with Scout here, fellas. If she already deduced this much, then this might make things easier for us.] Engineer.

[*Sleeps…*] Demolition Man.

[Vell. Vorst comes to vorst, they'll only think ve're insane.] Medic.

[I would assume IF will report this to that 'Guild', but as the Doctor said, they'll only think we're insane at worst. Hell, some of us really are insane…] Spy.

[As long as they pay, I'm in.] Sniper.

With that everyone nodded, even the Demoman who fell asleep. While IF and Histoire were still in the middle of the argument. "-doesn't explain how they didn't know what CPU-."

"Close, ma'am. But that ain't true."

The guild agent and book fairy stopped arguing and looked at the smirking Engie. "Pardon?" Histoire asked, and the mercenaries responded with Medic, Engie and Spy as their spokespeople, who have the most social skills out of the team, explaining how they got here. And to soften up some of IF's suspicion, Engineer even set up a level one teleporter on the spot. Fascinated by technology as usual, Nepgear was more than willing to test it out after Engineer teleported himself across the room, and then less than happy when she nearly fell onto the floor due to disorientation…

When Histoire questioned them about all that stuff they brought in, the mercenaries told them about how they were defending a facility from army of robots, and that they were about to move to the next location when the mishap happened.

While it explained a few things to IF, she's still skeptical but she decided to keep silent. Nepgear was lost somewhere at the robots part and Histoire's processor is currently overloaded…

"If I have it right…" Histoire managed to speak, even if her mind is lagging due to information overload. "You are actually not from Gamindustri, but from another world named 'Earth', where you were defending your employer's facilities from your former employer's killer who decided to take over Man Co. using an army of robotic versions of yourself-"

"Mann Co. Ma'am! Two 'n's." Soldier corrected her, to which IF rolled her eyes. Histoire just ignored him.

"…And when you used Engineer's newest invention you found yourself in the Virtua Forest here in Gamindustri."

"It was an accident." Engie groaned. "But yeah, seems right to me."

"You sure dealt with this whole changing worlds thing pretty quickly." IF still skeptical as ever... Scout pointed his thumb at the French spook of the team.

"That shape-shifting rat there is a master of quick thinkin'." The 'shape-shifting rat' smirked at the insulting compliment.

"Indeed, what the boy who cries from rainbows said."

"Shut the hell up, Spy! Rainbows don't make me cry."

"I'm pretty sure they do."

"Nu-uh. Who the 'ell would cry from seein' rainbows. Huh?"

'Those two really get along…' Nepgear thought with a bit of sarcasm before asking aloud. "But that means you're employed already, right?"

"More like, forced to work for bloody nothing…" Sniper grumbled.

"Forced for nothing?" Histoire blinked. Someone managed to get them to do something like protecting property from a robotic army for nothing? How?!

"Former contract details, please don't ask." Spy shut down her question. "Anyway, I think we should cut the idle talk about our past and move onto the contract details."

"Right, the contract." Histoire motioned to IF, who began distributing sheets of paper to the each mercenary. "What I ask you is to help us defeat ASIC and release the captured CPUs."

"Quite a vague objective, but not an impossible one. I assume these people we 'met' yesterday are part of that… organization?" Histoire nodded at Spy's words.

"That's right. The Arfoire Syndicate of International Crime, or ASIC for short, is a crime organization…"

'No kidding, Sherlock.' Scout thought.

"…which is slowly destroying all nations by draining their goddess' shares in order to revive their leader, Arfoire." Heavy raised his hand. "Yes, Heavy?"

"Shares?"

'It's like teaching kids in kindergarten. Except they're grown up.' IF thought.

"Oh right. Shares are basically the life-force for the CPUs. Shares are generated when people believe in their nation's goddess. The more Shares the nation has, the stronger their CPUs are. Since the last report, Planeptune has only 7.6 percent Shares. Is this explanation satisfactory, Heavy?"

Heavy got it, but at the same time didn't get it... How people believing in you make you stronger? "Yes." But he still decided to nod.

'These CPUs are getting more and more fascinating. Getting stronger by people believing in you? Hah!' Medic thought with amusement as the Oracle continued.

"Actually now that we're on the subject, did you bring Maxie as I asked?"

"Maxie? Who's that?" Nepgear blinked.

"Well, we couldn' bring her in without her tryin' to scream for help or escapin'. So…" Scout looked at Medic. The rest of the team followed suit, and finally the girls looked at the German a moment later. Surprisingly the German doctor was looking quite nervous from the attention he's receiving…

"Vat?"

"You were in charge of our prisoner of war, where is she?" Soldier calmly stated. Histoire who had brief flashbacks from the experiments in Meet the Medic had to gulp and ask.

"Doctor, she IS still alive and has her entire body intact, right?"

* * *

Somewhere in the warehouse complex. Maxie had just woken up on the floor with both her hands and legs tied to the furniture, the 'Kritzkrieg' (Similar in appearance to the Medi Gun, it sports an additional fixture to the barrel with two glowing yellow lights on each side.) releasing a weak healing beam into her much to her confusion. She's also feeling a large amount of numb pain in her stomach and she can feel the cool floor on her back.

She looks down…

Her entire top clothes are removed, along with her bra, releasing her bare chest for all to see. If she finds out that those people had some funny ideas… the ASIC lieutenant tried to lift her head in order to see her stom-

Oh my god…

Her entire stomach is cut open! She can even see all her internal organs, but that's not the worst part…

Somehow these bastards managed to scramble their positions, and now she can see her beating heart where her liver was supposed to be…

She could feel puke coming up, which makes this even more horrifying because she can also SEE the puke coming up, which makes even more bile try to force it's way to her mouth.

H-Holy crap, what is her liver doing down there where her womb should be!? And…

"I-Is that my womb under my lungs!?"

* * *

"Yes, she is quite alive and intact." Medic nodded, before scratching his cheek. "But I scrambled her organs." Nepgear's face became terrified while IF sighed, she saw it coming.

"W-What? Why!?" Histy asked, incredulous, too surprised and horrified to even be angry. The Medic responded by adjusting his glasses with an evil smirk.

 **"For science. Frau Histoire."**

'Note to self; NEVER get on their wrong side.' Nepgear and IF thought together.

Deciding it's better to not pursue the topic, Histoire decided to skip and move onto something else. "I… see… Anyway, I'm not able to tell you your precise payment, it will vary on your performance and other things, however I assure you that killing civilians will be met with harsh payment cuts."

"How much?" Sniper asked.

"At least twenty five percent per, for each innocent person killed." Histoire's face grew serious. All mercs winced. Four civilians killed and they can kiss their payment good bye? Not even the Administrator was that harsh on giving payments… well, at least during the Gravel War she wasn't.

"But killing ASIC members is still valid?" Spy pried, and the Oracle sighed.

"As much as it hurts, I wouldn't bet you'd try to solve things peacefully…" The fact that she subtly called all of them killers wasn't missed by the mercenaries, but they kept silent. She's right afterall.

"Real men solve problems with their fists!" Soldier puffed his chest, confirming what Histoire just said.

Nepgear with each passing word grew more and more nervous. Histoire informed her that the mercenaries she will hire aren't exactly… harmless, and she understands that times are rough, but to go as far as to recruit not one but nine walking killing machines? At least Histoire made it clear that she won't tolerate violence against innocent people, but she still had her moral doubts…

"In short. Your objective is to help us defeat ASIC and we will pay you depending on how you do it. Keep in mind the penalty for civilian casualties. Any other questions?" Engineer raised his hand. "Yes, Engineer?"

"Sorry to be blunt, Ma'am. But do y'all mind giving us some place to sleep? I don't think it's safe in the warehouse complex."

"'Not safe in the warehouse complex'. I understand it was the ASIC hideout but do you mind explaining?"

Engineer and Spy explained the call from CFW Judge, along with Scout who told what he got from one of the ASIC leaders, at which IF and Nepgear grew alarmed, which is understandable. When Histoire asked if they could say anything about him or how he looks, Engie gave Histoire the phone Spy sapped.

Needless to say, the girls grew even more alarmed, with Histoire being the most right now. "H-He called you? Does he know about Nepgear being here!?" At that, Spy disguised himself as Maxie to answer.

"All in a day's work. It's so freakin' easy to fool people when you're a Spy. Seriously I can make 'em eat from my hands!" 'Maxie' smirked, before dropping the disguise.

"Wow…" Nepgear forgot how to think for a moment…

"But once word gets out, I think both Maxie and you, Mademoiselle Nepgear are going to be in deep trouble…"

"I see… there should be a small hotel near the Basilicom, I can write it off to you so you can use it personally. And that also means, paying taxes."

"You're too kind." Spy used Flattery! It's super effective!

"I've been thinking." IF stroked her chin. "You were supplied by that ManN Co. right?" She sarcastically emphasized that second 'n'.

"Aye. So?" Demoman nodded.

"Then wouldn't that mean you lost all your ammo resupply?" IF brought a good point, on which everyone fell briefly silent.

"That's a good point, it's hard to fire a gun without ammunition." Nepgear agreed.

"Hehey, no fear. Hardhat's dispensers have ammo-."

"Scout, dispensers only provide ammunition. It doesn't create it."

"Well, if you write off the calibers, I could make an agreement with the Guild." Histoire said. At which Heavy raised his hand again.

"Sasha uses custom-tooled cartridges. Most people don't do them."

"Sasha, that's your minigun, right?" Nepgear asked.

"Да, she weights one-hundred kilograms and-."

"No one cares, fatcakes." Scout taunted, but the Russian had thicker skin than that.

"So custom-made order… I assume these bullets on your belt are these special bullets. Do you mind if I take one to reverse engineer it?" Heavy thought for a moment, before shrugging and placed one bullet on the Oracle's waiting hands.

Which were nearly instant on the desk once Heavy took his hand away…

To her horror she heard and FELT, her bones cracking.

Her eyes widen from the sheer weight of it. She can't lift even one bullet and he had an entire BELT made out of them, and he's carrying it so effortlessly…

To her relief when Heavy realized the bullet is too Heavy he took it and placed it next to her adorable crushed hands. "Little woman is too small to carry a tiny bullet. Ahaha!" Heavy briefly laughed as Histoire rubbed her hands together, considering asking their Doctor for help…

Which she doesn't need to, as the very amused Doctor already fired his Medi-Gun at her. And just like that she feels good again! In fact she felt even better than before, even her headache is gone! "Thanks, Medic." She rubbed her no longer crushed hands together.

Out of curiosity, Nepgear took said bullet into her hands, and her Oracle was right. This IS heavy… "Umm, Heavy… what's Sasha's caliber?" the CPU Candidate asked.

"Full one cal."

IF's eyes widen and she let her jaw loose. "O-One cal!?" 'Is he firing a minigun or an AA gun!?' A bullet that big is enough to completely sever human limbs… and if what he said in Meet the Heavy was true then he's firing ten-thousands of them in a single minute! 'T-That person yesterday was turned into mincemeat… just how easily can they kill people…?'

"S-So…" The Oracle composed herself. "Is there anything else we should discuss?"

'Hmm… objective, payment, place to sleep and supplies… I think we're done here.' Sniper recalled their talk so far. "Nah, I think that's all."

"Then please sign your contracts, you can find all additional things we have discussed on the last page."

After all mercenaries finished writing their own signatures. (In Pyro's case it burned its one into the paper, but somehow managing to not destroy or even damage it) the mercs returned the pages to IF.

While Histoire began counting the sheets, Spy cleared his throat.

"With that out of the way, shall we discuss our plan of attack?"

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Histy Meets Them All! (Part II)**

* * *

Before I say anything. The part where Spy bluffs about 'Illness' is actually part I copied from 'Ceasefire Days' by 'sawruhr' (without the '). I liked that part too much to not include it in my fanfiction as well.

I had, way, WAY too much fun than I should writing Maxie's part. Or writing this chapter in general, I hated it and loved it at the same time .-.

Respondes:

\- GXLatias

Thanks, I planned that one since the beginning, I'm glad you liked it.

\- BreadNotDead

To be honest I could make that pep talk little better in my opinion… it just feels to short for me.

\- Piggyslayer1235

Thanks…?

\- Harmless Orange


	8. Maincalling and Scrims

**Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Maincalling and Scrims**

* * *

Upon the guild agent's return after going off to fetch Compa for the planning, to her complete surprise, instead of coming back to more shenanigans, she was met with serious discussion… led by Soldier, of all people! With Histoire or his teammates suggesting or correcting few things of course, but still. While she wouldn't call Soldier a tactical genius, most of his plans were sound, with Spy or Histoire correcting a few logical aspects and adding their own pieces, but it was still enough for her to see him in a new light instead of a 'Shoot first, ask later' type of guy. Now she began to understand why he called himself 'Leader of the team'.

While IF didn't exactly agree with some of the mercs' plans, she decided to listen to them anyway. They are 'professionals' afterall, and they've shown that for all their quirks, they know what they're doing.

Compa on the other hand wasn't of much help. As eager as she was, Spy ordered her, IF and Nepgear to stay in hiding, mainly because the first plan was to use them as bait for CFW Judge, and in order to do that, he mustn't be informed till they're ready, and the mercs have lots of things to prepare.

Yes, Histoire immediately objected to using Nepgear and her friends as bait, and suggested that both her and her friends try to regain some Shares instead. However Engie was quick to assure her that after they will teleport the girls out of the warehouse back to the hotel, destroying the entrance and preventing anyone from chasing or even knowing where they went, and Spy refuted by saying that the ASIC can easily get the Shares back if that strategy isn't followed by sabotage or distraction, and even then it'll be hard to keep those Shares without something major happening that can permanently sway public opinion. The oracle was kinda shocked that the mercenaries, who a few minutes ago didn't even know what Shares are, not only accepted it but were also considering their plans based around them already, and she had to admit they were right.

When Nepgear suggested going back to the Gamindustri Graveyard to try and save the goddesses once more, to her surprise it was Histoire who countered her, saying it would be futile without a big enough Sharicite. Then to her mild irritation she had to explain to the Demoman (and the mercs in general) what Sharicite is.

In short, simply gaining Shares is out of question unless it's a pincer attack, and going to save the Goddesses is impossible without enough shares to 'revive' them, so the mercs opted for a more permanent solution, eliminating one of their leaders, and then gaining as many Shares as they can while ASIC is in chaos over losing one of their higher-ups…

If that plan fails, then the mercenaries will directly fight the ASIC in Planeptune by wiping out their facilities, ambushing supply convoys and weeding out their contacts in the Basilicom (Spy even suggested staging a few anti-ASIC riots on the streets, but Histoire thought that may endanger civilians so he dropped the idea.), while Nepgear and the others will gain shares in order to create the Sharicite, under the watch of at least three designated mercenaries of course. They're wanted by ASIC after all.

So for the next 20 minutes, everyone discussed their target, a.k.a. CFW Judge. His weaknesses, style of fighting, where to ambush him and how to make him get there. They finally opted for the warehouse complex where the mercs first time met the ASIC goons, and IF argued why she can't join the fight.

"Well, the plan seems good, but why can't I help fight?" The guild agent folded her arms, pretty annoyed.

"Chicks shouldn' fight. That's a man's job." Scout puffed his chest, not realizing that every female (even Nepgear albeit softer) were glaring daggers at him.

"Wanna say it again!?" The furious guild agent braced her Katars, making Scout gulp, but the other mercs interfered in time.

"Scout, please. You can barely fight yourself." Spy mocked, rolling his eyes.

"Go to hell Spy, I can kick your bum any day of week." Scout glared and pointed at Spy, who simply ignored him.

"Zhe actual reasons are." Medic, cutting in before things got out of the hand, started counting on his fingers. "Eins, you seems to lack any ranged weaponry. Zwei, ve have zhe biological enhancements, boosting our fighting capability vhile you don't und ve are protected by zhe Respawn System safety net."

"Biological enhancements and Respawn System safety net? Could you explain, Medic?" Histoire perked up with sudden interest, as did Compa and Nepgear.

Medic and Engie exchanged looks, before shrugging and briefly explaining the Re:Spawn System and their nanotech enhancements, on which only Histoire and Nepgear understood, Compa only partially got it and IF was just confused.

"In short, nanomachines make us stronger and more durable, Doc's Heart Implant makes our hearts more effective and if we die and Doc isn't there to revive us, after a few seconds our bodies are teleported and revived by the Respawn System. Any questions?" Engie looked around.

"What about the 'übercharge'? Does it really make you invincible?" Compa asked.

"I stopped a train with Doctor, is true." Heavy confirmed with a nod, and IF's eyes went wide as dinner plates.

"An entire train? How!?"

"With bare hands!" Heavy grinned, clenching his massive hands, still coated in brass knuckles, which send chills up IF's spine. Even Nepgear was at a loss for words, only uttering a dazed 'Wow…' as her brain tried to recover its basic senses.

"Ja, a train filled vith explosives, anvils and, interestingly enough, rubber ducks." Medic, along with his entire team recalled the time of their first battle in Snowplow, while Histoire briefly wondered why someone loaded a train with rubber ducks.

"Yeah… lookin' back, that was some firework show." Scout chuckled.

"Me bottle o' scrumpy…" Demoman sniffled at the memory of his poor whiskey bottle, shattered after the assault.

"Ya still owe me that bloody car mirror, from when you tried to climb my van and nearly fell off the cliff." Sniper grumbled, glaring at Scout, who simply handwaved it.

"Details, Snipes, details."

"You climbed on a driving car? Isn't that dangerous?" Compa questioned the obvious.

"Yeah, it's usually a bad idea to climb a van, 'specially while it's goin' high speed through an avalanche zone, but pfft, I'm awesome like that!" Scout grinned and leaned on his chair. IF was unimpressed. 'They certainly had some adventures.' She thought to herself, rolling her eyes.

"Anyway, if I may?" Histoire coughed. "But I have a bit of a request." The mercenaries looked at the fairy. "Could you please share your Medi-Gun and Respawn System technology with us? We could save so many lives with this!"

"Nein, we von't do zhat." Medic declined without hesitation.

"B-But, what about these poor sick people at the hospitals! The Medi-Gun could really help them." Compa made puppy eyes, but it didn't work on the merciless Medic or soulless Spy, who immediately set about retorting the seemingly reasonable request.

"Allow me to explain. Let's say that we did share our Medic's technology. Tell me what will happen then."

"A medical revolution will come, and our survival rate will drastically go up." Histoire responded, but the Spy had a different answer in mind.

"A valid answer, yes. But it will also mean that criminals will gain access to this, and if that happens then the crime rate will climb even faster than your survival rate. Once people stop fearing death, they won't fear anything, much less the law."

Everyone fell silent at this point, and after a few moments of letting things sink in, Histoire had to begrudgingly admit that he's right. Especially in Gamindustri as it is right now, with already high crime rate, ASIC, low shares and the goddesses captured, giving immortality to the general public would cause absolute chaos! World-changing technology like that could prove dangerous even in times of peace, much less now.

"However," Medic raised his hand. "I'm sure ve can find some spare implants, I could insert them inside your bodies if you vould like." The German smiled a smile that was not very benevolent. Yes! More test subjects!

"You sure it's a good idea, Doc?" Engie questioned.

"Nonsense, Herr Engineer. I see no problem vith it." Medic shrugged. "Zhey are our allies, and a few implants never hurt anyone."

"'Sides, isn't Nepgear our V.I.P. right now? Shouldn't she at least get the Respawn?" Scout agreed, scratching his cheek and making a very valid point for once.

"H-huh? Will it hurt?" The CPU Candidate reluctantly asked. She was expecting doubtful assurances from the doctor, but instead the answer she got was a resounding "Yes." from every single merc at the same time. The girls collectively sweatdropped.

"But don't vorry, I'm not the type to let my test- *ahem* patients, die." Medic followed up with some doubtful assurance, as did the Soldier.

"Pain is weakness leaving the body!" The crazed patriot suddenly yelled, causing the girls to flinch.

"B-But, I would like to." Compa raised an unsteady hand, making the guild agent look at her worriedly.

"Are you sure? You know he doesn't have a medical license." If reminded the nurse-in-training, causing Histoire to tense up at the reference to the Meet the Medic video.

"I am a professional, fräulein. I know how to perform surgery." Medic complained, but the brunette still wasn't assured.

"You won't explode her heart, will you?" IF questioned, folding her arms over her chest with narrowed eyes at the Medic. Nepgear meanwhile widened her eyes in shock.

"E-Explode!? W-What!?"

"I made zhat mistake only ONCE, and vith zhe old Medi-Gun no less." Medic grimaced. Heavy absentmindedly rubbed his own chest. "So NEIN, her heart vill be fine." The German growled.

* * *

With the discussion for the plan of operations over, it was time for the next agenda on the list. As much as Nepgear and IF wanted to help with the plan, the former haven't moved a muscle in the last 3 years, and the latter 'is weak and fights worse than a MAGGOT!', as Soldier said while effortlessly blocking a punch to the face from the guild agent in question. That's why the crazed patriot took Nepgear, IF and Compa to train them and get them up to the best shape possible. To their surprise, Histoire even provided them some training grounds inside the Planeptune Tower, on which he took a quick trip to the warehouse complex via teleporter to retrieve some stuff. He arrived 20 minutes later with his usual attire and several crates and even wooden cutouts of the mercenaries, used for practice purposes.

So now the girls and mercenary were standing in the middle of Planeptune's training ground, mostly used by the Basilicom staff to work out and practice combat.

"TEN HUT!" Soldier yelled. IF stayed at attention while a confused Compa winced at Soldier's volume, same with Nepgear. "[G-Goodness, how can someone yell that loud?]" She muttered. But fortunately for them Soldier didn't see or hear them disobeying the drill command, as he was picking his favorite shovel and 'Concheror'. (A wooden box with a quad diamond shaped insignia, accompanied by a conch shell. A white, slightly tattered banner flag with the same insignia appears when the banner call is played, a signal that the healing nanites within the box have gone into overdrive.) "We will begin your training by showing me what you can do. Close and personal. Only melee weapon and bare hands are permitted!" He slammed his shovel loudly on his helmet.

"G-Goodness, now!? Not even a warm-up?" The CPU Candidate hesitantly summoned her Beam Saber while Compa pulled out her oversized syringe and IF confidently braced her Katars and went into battle stance. She was eager to punch the heck out of his face for all he did to her.

"Mwehehehe. This IS the warm-up! ATTAAACK!" With a battle cry Soldier didn't miss a beat to charge and attack IF. While she effortlessly dodged the first swing of the shovel, Soldier used his momentum to spin and deliver a solid smack to her side, which the Guild agent blocked only for the strength to overpower her and knock her back.

While IF hissed from the slight pain, the mercenary sensed Nepgear coming from behind him while Compa rushed to aid IF. Waiting for Nepgear to take the bait, he waited and subtly prepared himself. When the CPU Candidate swung her sword at Soldier she found it easily deflected, followed by a great pain from the brutal punch to the face Soldier delivered her! "Kya!" Nepgear fell to the ground. Unprepared at all for the swift counter-attack.

"Always be ready for counters, sissy!" Soldier spat. Before the crazed patriot could follow up, Compa and IF tried to attack Soldier from both sides in a pincer attack. The American patriot blocked IF's Katars with the shovel while catching the syringe with his bare hand! "Ahh, much better!" The merc 'congratulated' them, his voice dripping with amusement. IF managed to pry the shovel off Soldier's hand, only to immediately find herself hit by Compa's syringe which Soldier ripped out of the nurse's hands in turn. "Firm grip is the basis of weapon handling!" The man lectured while using the syringe like a bat, mercilessly assaulting IF before swiftly smashing Compa's stomach with the cylinder and pushing her roughly onto the ground.

"Guugh!?"

"C-Compa!" Nepgear rushed towards her friend, who was fighting back the tears as she healed the forming bruise with her weak healing magic before grabbing CPU Candidate's hand which raised her off the ground. There was no break to be found though, as Compa's eyes widen when she saw Soldier approaching from behind! "Watch out!"

Just when the shovel was swinging down, IF cut in. Literally. She deflected the blow with her Katars and immediately followed with a roundhouse kick, finally connecting with the Soldier's jaw. While the crazed patriot was recovering, IF decided to regroup with the others, not following up due to fear of another brutal counter from their coach like he did to Gear. Always be ready for counters, right?

Big mistake.

With the sound of the Concheror's shell horn playing, all hell broke loose. Now under the Concheror's buff, Soldier not only became much faster, but in addition to the passive health regeneration, also gained additional healing upon every successful hit!

"Forward!" Soldier shouted, though instead of charging head-on, he started zig sagging and jumping at the same time, making his motions less predictable. Though his initial assault was deflected by Nepgear's saber, to her horror he used the momentum to spin around and hit her once more from another angle, this time bypassing her defenses and delivering a solid smack to her ribs. The lilac-haired girl briefly lost her balance but managed to stay upright.

Before Compa or even IF could come to her defense, Soldier had already switched targets and was already in the middle of knocking Compa out of the battle using his shovel and her own syringe against her, beating the stuffing out of her with them. This time however IF cut it short and rushed to her defense. With a downwards slash at his back, the attack struck true! But somehow it didn't do much damage, and the guild agent tasted the shovel in retaliation.

"You are all weak! You are all BLEEDERS!" He taunted with a smug face. Nepgear, seeing her friends beaten down so effortlessly, grabbed her sword firmly even though her hands were shaking and bet everything on one last desperate hit.

"Hiiiiya!" She ran at Soldier with an overhead slash prepared. With his shovel in his hand he could easily block such an obvious attack, but instead of doing so or dodging, he opted for something else…

Nepgear's sword went down…

Soldier's left hand went up…

.

.

.

All the trainees stared in shock when Soldier caught the Beam Saber between his fingers. Sort off, because the sword cut straight through his entire palm and stayed there. And the steam coming off it means it's not painless. Even Soldier can't help but wince at the burning pain in his palm. It's similar to when Pyro set him on fire all those countless times, but in much smaller scale.

Flexing his hand, Soldier ripped the sword out of Nepgear's shaking hands and immediately pointed at her with his other hand. "Nepgear, not even in the war have I seen a more desperate and pathetic try to defeat the enemy!" He spat.

The girl in question hung her hand in shame. "I-I'm sorry…"

"Don't you apologize to me, sissy! Get a grip on yourself and try harder! Break! 5 Minutes. Dismissed."

Soldier went to help get Compa onto her feet and shout similar things to her, and when IF came to her defense he was more than happy to point out all of her mistakes. After that they went to rest a little before continuing. This is going to be one very long training session…

* * *

When Engineer, Medic and Spy checked out the hotel, they were surprised that only the keeper was present, who gave them the keys, said goodbye and left the building immediately.

The building was only classified as a 3-star hotel, but was futuristic and fancy nonetheless by the mercs' standards. The area in general was big enough to even include a small garden in the back, big enough if someone wanted to chill out outside or train hand-to-hand combat with over three people at once.

The reception room included one exit to the outside, stairs going both up and down, and two corridors leading to opposite directions, the right one to a dining hall with kitchen, and restrooms, shower included. The left one contained 10 doors to the bedrooms and an exit to the garden. The entire floor was T shaped and the Engineer already started planning defenses.

The instant mercs went to the basement, they already decided to make it their 'Resupply Room'. The room was big enough to support the entire Re:Spawn System and place some Resupply Lockers in. There was also lots of junk that could be smelted down to craft Engineer's buildings and other things, so they decided to leave them as they are there for now.

The upper floor contained another 20 rooms and a balcony, on which one could see the center of the city, in its own way it's kind of soothing, Spy remarked.

* * *

"Right! Left! Right! Left! Faster!" Soldier slapped Nepgear's back for the tenth time with the 'Disciplinary Action', which was a riding crop, of all things. The girls stopped questioning the mercenaries' weapons of choice a while ago.

"Ahh! *pant pant*" Nepgear gave a wince from pain and a yelp of surprise and ran briefly faster. Both her and the others were doing laps around the room, with IF already done with her 2 kilometer run and Soldier allowing her to take a break till the others finished. She hardly broke a sweat, being one of the most agile agents in the Guild and exercising daily. That couldn't be said about the others…

"*pant pant* C-Can't breathe…" Compa wheezed, and the CPU Candidate wasn't in much better condition.

"G-Goodness *pant pant* Soldier please…" Nepgear tried to beg, but the American was having none of it.

"Less complaining, more running! Or do you want to run another lap?"

"W-We're running!"

Sighing, IF stood up and walked towards her purse. The brunette agent opened it and retrieved a can of Bonk! Atomic Punch. A gift from Scout when he tried to set things straight from Sniper's… joke.

* * *

 _"Heeey, IF. Ya got a secon'?" Scout smoothly jogged towards the guild agent. She silently groaned but kept her composure._

 _"What is it, Scout?" She kept walking down the hallways of the Basilicom with the young mercenary in tow._

 _"I wanted to.. ya know… um…" Scout struggled, searching for the right words in his tiny dictionary. Eventually he found them "…explain some things."_

 _IF stopped, and looked at Scout with a hand on her hip and raised an eyebrow. "Oookay? What do you want to explain?"_

 _"That stuff Snipes said about… the jar thing." He scratched his neck and quietly said the last part. It took a second for IF to remember what he's talking about, and when she did it made her shudder. 'Just PLEASE, tell me you're not going to confirm it. Please tell me that was just a joke…' The brunette begged silently to the one who lies above._

 _This time her pleas were heard._

 _"Remember Mann Co., right?" He nervously began._

 _"Yes. And…?"_

 _"Well they made a certain, something...? Dunno what it is but they call it 'Mad Milk'. Yeah it's white stuff in a jar, and it smells… funky, but it ain't_ THAT _, seriously. But it is something you throw at people, and then get free heals when you hit them." The young man tried to explain. 'Okay… what? How does THAT work?' The girl had a hard time believing it, but her mind was willing to buy the explanation if it meant avoiding the alternative._

 _"Then what was Sniper doing? Revenge for that joke?" IF asked to confirm, silently hoping that he will say that the thing about throwing piss is just a joke in bad taste or some other bizarre Mann Co. product… 'But then that Sniper's response…'_

 _She shuddered again._

 _"Well, Snipes is Snipes. I mean sometimes he gotta do it on the battlefield, if it works it works." He shrugged. For a moment IF wanted to ask him about what Sniper said about them not minding it while they're on fire but then… she_ REALLY _doesn't want to know. 'I guess I shouldn't think so low of them, but it's really hard when you see how insane they are…'_

 _"Okay, thanks… for clearing that up." She started walking but Scout stopped her one more time._

 _"Wait! Wait! Wait!"_

 _Quietly sighing and rolling her eyes, 'As annoying as Neptune…' "Yes?" IF said a little too forcefully than she hoped for. Instead of answering verbally, the mercenary pulled out a can of highly radioactive drink and handed it to the guild agent. She looked at the can with confusion._

 _"For that trainin' with Solly. I'll be going then, bye." Scout saluted with two fingers, flashed a 'charming' smile, and jogged away where he came from._

 _Once IF was out of sight and Scout couldn't hear her, a voice called out to him. "Congratulations! I suppose this will be worth a passing grade this time." Spy decloaked. His answer was Scout's sigh of relief._

 _"Man… If only Miss Pauling actually listened to me like her."_

 _"Well, some things you could play better, but things still went better than with Miss Pauling. But what I don't understand is why IF? Why not Compa or Nepgear, they aren't as skeptical after all, or is it just personal taste?" Spy questioned._

 _"Well, Compa seems to have a feelin' for the Doc there, maybe that old Deutsch-bag will finally get laid if I stay away from them." Scout chuckled. "And did you see how Nepgear looked at Hardhat? He's like some kind of superstar to her…"_

 _Spy feigned a surprised look. "What's this, Scout? You actually started thinking about others! But I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you, you're the only virgin on the team." Frenchie smirked._

 _"Go to hell, Spy!" Came the instinctive response from the youngest member._

 _"Anyway, I have to look into that hotel Histoire's written off for us. Now that you're free I want you to scout the city or help the others in the warehouses." Spy cloaked out of the sight._

 _"Damn Frenchie." Scout sighed, before jogging to the stairs and descending._

 _Little did Scout know that IF had been listening in. And little did she know that Spy_ KNEW _she's there doing that._

* * *

The Guild agent reluctantly picked up the can and opened it. She sniffed it once… twice… three times. Smells weird, like a normal energy drink. She looked at the can in detail.

 **Bonk! Atomic Punch**

 **Cherry Fission**

 **Now with isotopes**

She's actually lacking in the chemistry knowledge, so she doesn't quite know what isotopes are…

"Girls, whatever third-world stink pile you actually live in, today you live in America!"

Rolling her eyes at Soldier's random comment. She took a swig of the drink…

And her eyes widened…

Nearly choking at the overly sugary taste that was NOTHING like cherries, IF looked at the can. At first everything seemed normal, albeit a little greyer for some reason, but after looking at the other side of the can she noticed a one crucial detail she overlooked.

 **Ingredients: Water, Radiation, Sugar.**

Along with some text too small for her to read. Out of shock that she just drank liquid radiation, IF dropped the can, but something weird happened.

.

.

.

… **The can isn't falling down…**

Confused, IF began examining the can with her eyes, and nothing looked wrong, other than the fact it's floating. Then she slowly and carefully poked it: it moved, but it was like frozen in place and moved only when she moved it. 'What's going on? Am I hallucinating?'

With her confusion intensifying, she looked at the running group and also found them frozen in place. Needing a closer look, she walked towards her childhood friend, Compa, and slowly waved a hand in front of her tired and pained expression. 'Soldier's sure pushing them hard.' She thought, as she realized there's no reaction from the blonde teen. 'Weird, she isn't moving or reacting at all! What's happened to her- Wait. This isn't affecting her, it's me! Just what the heck did Scout give me!?' She thought, starting to panic a little.

Despite her growing fear, her eyes happened to look down and her gaze landed on the nurse-in-training's ample bosom. Huh. Well, if time's really stopped for her, she may as well make use of it, right? Feeling a little guilty about what she's going to do but taking the chance nonetheless, she silently hoped that whatever this is it won't expire now. 'I've always wondered…' The brunette's hand drifted closer until it lightly squeezed her friend's breast. It felt… soft and nice to the touch, even with her sweater and bra in the way. The guild agent squeezed them once more before stopping. 'Okay, enough of that… This just feels wrong…' Taking her hands off nurse-in-training's chest (albeit a little reluctantly) and silently praising her luck for not expiring, she noticed that like the can, her boobs didn't move from how they were when she squeezed them.

IF moved out of the group's way and sat back down against the wall. 'That was… interesting. Now when is this gonna end?' She wondered, and as if on cue, the world brightened up and things started to move again.

Releasing a sigh of relief, she retrieved Scout's gift from the floor and placed it on the small table.

"Thank goddess…"

* * *

"Hello, Mister Medic and Mister Engineer" Compa jogged towards the German, he and Engineer were discussing something before the nurse-in-training interrupted.

"Guten Tag, Fräulein." Doctor nodded at her.

"Hey there, Compa." Engie politely tipped his hardhat. When the Engie noticed her confused expression he coughed. "Doc said hi. In German."

"German?

"The language of my country." Medic explained impatiently. "Anyway, vat is it?"

"Could you teach me medicine?" Compa looked at Medic with puppy eyes. Her target and his friend's eyes widened slightly in surprise from her bluntness.

'An apprenticeship request? For me!? Haha! Someone finally noticed my genius!' Despite his inner joy, the doctor played it cool. "Do you even have any medical knowledge?" Medic questioned.

"I'm studying to be a nurse and I go to a medical school." Compa chirped. If the doctor was unimpressed, she didn't notice.

'Basic medical knowledge… Not much, but another pair of hands to keep these dummkopfs alive could be helpful… Plus, an apprentice could be interesting.' Medic thought to himself, and outwardly scoffed. "Dah, that vill do." He waved. Before Compa could say something he added, "But not now, after ve get zhe medical bay ready. Now schnell, raus, raus."

Compa happily nodded. "I won't disappoint you, teacher! I'll give my best!" The Medic's new apprentice cheered and happily skipped down the hallway.

When Medic caught Engie smirking he sighed. "Herr Engineer, I am a married man with two children and zhis girl is halv my age." He deadpanned.

"Did I say somethin', Doc?" Engie shrugged.

"You vere smirking, Kamerad."

"Smirkin', not judgin'. So, you gonna teach her how to use the Medi-Gun? Might be nice to have someone else keepin' us alive when you ain't there." The Texan leaned against the wall. The Medic shrugged.

"I suppose I could. But I think zhe Quick-Fix might ve better."

* * *

Nepgear and her friends were brutally trained by Soldier for two more days, with each session starting and ending with a painful duel where Soldier dominates the battlefield. While the training focused on getting the girls in best physical shape possible, he also included the basics of self-defense training against humans, teamwork, pressure points and gun handling. Every session included both physical and mental exhaustion, soreness, near-death experiences due to exhaustion and little to no breaks from the strict and inhuman mercenary training.

But it showed results.

While Nepgear can't double jump and her stamina is still below average, she's starting to learn to fight more effectively, shoot straight with a pistol and swiftly reload it. In fact, during their duels IF and Nepgear alone could finally keep Soldier on his toes for a few moments! And with Compa and her (pathetic but still useful) healing magic they're able to keep him at bay! The American is still much stronger than them of course, but after a few battles they've started to learn his tells and effectively judge when to counter-attack or back off.

During that time, the mercenaries finally fully renovated the hotel, with a fully functional Re:Spawn System, medical bay, and dining hall and kitchen and dorm rooms (with personal bathrooms!) for them.

"And why am I here?" IF asked her friend as she dragged the Guild agent and CPU Candidate up to the mercenary medical bay.

"G-Goodness Compa I'm really sore there…" Nepgear protested, but the nurse-in-training didn't listen.

"C'mon Iffy, Ge-Ge! Don't you want to get stronger? Besides this is also my time to finally show my nursing skills!" Compa skipped up the stairs, shocking IF with her arm strength. Several mercs also glanced at them in confusion before shrugging them off.

"W-Well I want to, but goodness how did you get so strong? You're ripping my sore arm off!"

Compa quickly found the doors labeled 'Medical Bay' and knocked. "Mister Medic! We're here!" She cheerfully said. The doors opened, revealing the German Medic without his coat and his hands bare.

"Vell, you're here. Ve're in luck, I just found three full sets of enhancements. Could you two vait vhile we start vith Compa?"

"Sure, no problem!" Not suspecting anything at all, Compa cheerfully skipped into the room, oblivious to the Scout whispering something to the Pyro, who mumbled and shook its head disapprovingly, then dragged him down the stairs.

While waiting, IF took this time to examine the pistol Soldier issued her with. The 'Winger', a bluish pistol with a small pair of stylized yellow wings emblazoned on the slide over the magazine and a yellow-red radiation hazard sign on the grip, straight from Scout's armory. The mercenary himself didn't mind it, he wasn't very fond of this one because of its very small clip, even if it's compensated with stronger bullets.

"What do you think about this, IF?" Nepgear suddenly begun. The Guild agent holstered her weapon and raised an eyebrow.

"Hmm?"

"W-Well, I realize that times are rough, with my sister and all the other CPUs captured, but do we really have to go that far? Hiring mentally unstable mercenaries, getting body modifications, plotting assassinations… I know desperate times call for desperate measures, but still…"

Sighing, IF stood up and placed her hand on Nepgear's shoulder. "Do you remember how ASIC started?"

Nepgear nodded. "Yes, they used to be a charity group. Helping everyone, even those who were abandoned by others or were doing the abandoning. There was even a time when they held a charity to rebuild the orphanage here in Planeptune after monsters destroyed it. We even funded them from our national treasury. And to think that entire thing was just a façade…" The CPU Candidate's shoulders dropped.

"And after you were captured. ASIC made it clear that everything is fair game." IF had brief flashback from year ago. "Disk copying, disk burning, because of ASIC the streets were filled with all kinds of crimes from petty theft and pickpocketing to piracy and even anti-CPU propaganda!" Nepgear's eyes widen. To emphasize her point IF gave Nepgear her N-Gear, which the lilac-haired CPU took and quickly found its case opened.

"There were a few riots in front of the Basilicom because of it, the people went as far as to try to kick Neptune, you and Histoire out of the Basilicom and out of the nation." The CPU Candidate started to tremble in terror, while the Guild agent simply folded her arms as she continued. "The only reason Planeptune is still standing is because someone leaked footage of you and the other CPUs captured in those… cables. It was like a bucket of cold water to the head for the public, and that's how we knew you were still in the Gamindustri Graveyard." Nepgear calmed down a bit, but the bad news wasn't quite over. "But ASIC went in and used the leak to their advantage. Green Heart wasn't exactly seen in the footage, so they fabricated some fake videos and made Leanbox take the blame. The situation's not as bad as before for Planeptune at least, but it's still pretty bad." IF sighed and went back to her chair, letting the CPU Candidate sink in all the information.

"Thinking about that… The mercenaries are exactly the opposite."

This statement caused Nepgear to perk up. "Huh?"

"It's really hard to admit it… but looking past the more horrible things they've done, they really seem to care about others. Yes, they're strange, brash, rude, some of them outright insane, but looking back they really cared about us. I mean, look at Soldier, he's a violent psychopath who says all kinds of random nonsense, but he really took the time and effort to train us, and, well, the results speak for themselves. We'd barely even met for more than a day too, and he was willing to do that for us. For all their flaws, I think we can trust them. And oh goddess, that was so corny!" IF snickered, breaking the atmosphere. At least it managed to bring a light smile of hope back to the Candidate's face too.

"Y'know, your confidence really fades fast, Gear. The last pep talk I gave you was only two chapters ago." IF smirked, before pulling up her phone and checking the time. "Oh jeez, how long is this-" Her complaint was cut off by the doors opening.

"Next!" Said the slightly blushing Compa, smiling brightly with her eyes closed… Though if one looked closely, one could see she's in immense pain right now and that her chest is slightly glowing red.

"Well about time, do you mind if I go next, Gear?" IF stood up and dusted off her shorts and coat.

"Sure, go ahead." Nepgear said politely. IF flashed her a smile and went in while Compa followed and closed the doors.

It didn't take long before IF noticed that the medical bay looked similar to one in the Meet the Medic video, with only a few differences like the floor being made out of planks and different wall colors. The biggest difference is that there are two different types of Medi-Guns attached to the ceiling.

Medic was at the sink, washing his hands of Compa's blood. "Vell then." He turned around. "Please undress everything from your waist upwards."

IF's face reddened and her eyes widened. "H-Huh!? W-Why!?" She stuttered.

"Because Mister Medic's gonna cut you open, so the clothes have to go." Compa innocently said while taking IF's jacket and hanging it on the rack, not realizing how scary that statement was to her childhood friend. "Don't worry, Mister Medic's a great surgeon, it'll be done in no time!" The nurse-in-training assured.

'Well I can't really back out now… but…' With that thought hanging in her mind, IF reluctantly pulled down her one piece tank top, undressed her bra, and let Compa guide her to the surgery bed. To the Guild agent's surprise Compa even tied her arms to the bed, needless to say it seriously disturbed IF but before she could say anything Compa beat her to the punch. "It'll hurt a little but it's okay to scream, the rooms are sound-proof."

IF started to have second thoughts…

"Vell then." Medic turned on the Quick Fix, a prototype Medi Gun with more exposed parts and what appears to be a blender for a body. "Compa, have you ever helped vith surgery?" Medic raised IF's head a little, so all she can see is the ceiling. "Und IF, please don't look down. Ve don't want you to pass out from shock." IF gulped, but obeyed.

"No I haven't, it will be my first time!" Compa shook her head. The German clicked his tongue.

"Vell then, it's time for you to learn TRUE medicine. Scalpel."

"W-Wait! S-Shouldn't you sedate me first!?" IF frantically asked, but the only answer she got was pain in her torso as Medic began the operation with the scalpel, starting from a little above her chest, going between her breasts and ending all the way to her belly. Thankfully the Quick-Fix dulled the pain a little…

…Only a little…

.

.

.

"Hmm… Interesting." Medic commented.

"What is it?" Compa asked.

"Vell zhis proves even if ve're from different vorlds, ve're still zhe same inside." Medic concluded, shoving his hand under IF's lungs and causing the Guild agent to understandably yelp from surprise and pain.

"Aaagh!? N-Not so rough…" The patient complained, unable to stop the tears from forming.

"Don't cry Iffy, it'll be all over soon." Compa tried to comfort her friend as she wiped the brunette's tears with a rag, to some effect. It's a good thing IF couldn't see the Medic casually take her still beating heart out.

"Now, Compa, listen; zhe trick to not make your friend's heart explode," IF's eyes widened while Compa listened like a dutiful student, "iz to use a veaker beam. Zhis vill take much longer, ja, but her heart should be fine."

To demonstrate, Medic impaled the heart on a Heart Implant and turned on the default Medi-Gun which he set on the lowest possible input. Setting the heart on a table and healing it with the second Medi-Gun, he continued his work while IF's heart began beating very slowly.

.

.

.

History likes to repeat itself.

"Bad Archimedes! Get out from there!" Compa chased out Medic's bird, which cooed in annoyance and sat with the rest of the birds. While IF tried her hardest to ignore the fact a dove was just digging around her insides, the bird's owner prepared the Re:Spawn Chip to insert. "Now, IF. Are you right or left handed?"

Confused by the strange question, she answered slowly and cautiously. "I'm… right-handed…"

"Then please turn your head to zhe left. Zhis part iz tricky."

After inserting the chip on the right side of IF's spine, Medic had to wait a bit for the neck wound to heal a little.

.

.

.

"Mister Medic, who is this?" Compa took the framed black and white photo from the desk, which showed a slightly younger Medic with a black haired female and two children, both of them are girls and they're twins. All of them were smiling.

"Ahh, zhat is my vife. Jasmin, pretty isn't she?" Medic smiled.

"You have a wife? Where is she now?" IF pried, still looking to the left as before.

"I don't know." The German admitted. "Last time I saw her it vas when they vere evacuating Rottenburg because of Gray Mann's attack…" He sighed, recalling the memories of him and his team using the Electro-Shield and Reanimators for the first time.

"Don't worry, I'm sure she's still there and still loves you just as much!" Compa assured. If the Doctor was grateful, he didn't show it.

"Meh, anyway let's move on. Ve still have Nepgear after all."

.

.

.

"W-Where are you touching!?" The guild agent snapped, the blush on her face intensifying as the Doctor grabbed her thighs and started squeezing.

"I'm judging if you vill be able to handle zhe Agility Amplifier." He said indifferently.

"Agility Amplifier?" Compa questioned.

"One of zhe enhancements, it allows you to run faster and perform multiple jumps in the air."

"O-Oh…" IF felt a little reassured that its part of the surgery and not... sexual assault. With her arms tied, sound-proof walls and a man much stronger than her and Compa together, she wouldn't stand a chance otherwise. "Do it quick then… it's a little uncomfortable."

"Vell, zhey're bare minimum, but it'll do. I'm impressed, even among us only Scout vas able to support zhis. Compa, undress her shorts."

"Yes, sir!"

"H-Huh!? W-Wait a moment!" Compa obeyed and undressed one of the last pieces of clothing on the panicking IF, leaving her half naked on the table. The only thing covering her 'goods' are plain black panties, IF's favorite, which Compa innocently patted with a smile, much to IF's embarrassment, but Medic didn't even seem to notice.

"It's okay, just a little more and you will be free." The nurse assured again, not that it worked very well for the guild agent.

After inserting the Agility Amplifier inside IF's thighs, the surgery was almost finished, all that's left was to shove the intact and übercharged heart into the patient's chest and insert nanomachines into her bloodstream.

.

.

.

"Now zhen, zhe last part." Medic took out a large syringe filled with transparent white liquid. The syringe itself is about a quarter of Compa's battle syringe, which is still pretty intimidating.

"Finally!" IF released a huge sigh of relief. After being cut open while still awake, stripped half naked, and having her innards messed with by a doctor with very questionable medical ethics, she's tired both physically and mentally and couldn't wait for this mess to end. However that relief was extinguished when she saw an evil smirk on Medic's face.

"I vill warn you. After zhis you VILL feel pain for… let's say up to four hours."

IF gulped and braced herself.

"Compa, prepare zhe painkillers." "Yessy!"

With that, the Doctor stabbed IF in the neck, right inside the vein, and released the syringe's contents. Slowly, to make sure that vein doesn't explode from pressure overload.

"There, all done. How do you feel?" Medic put the empty syringe on the table and untied IF. She blinked. Huh, this isn't that bad-

"OOooooohhhhh…" The guild agent held her bare chest. 'Ohh goddess everything hurts… he wasn't joking about this…' Fortunately for her, her savior came in the form of Compa holding a glass of water and two pills of strong painkillers.

"Don't worry, it's just zhe nanomachines accommodating inside your body. Everything vill be ready after zhat." Medic explained.

"T-Thanks, Compa." IF's shaking hands took both goods of the True Goddess from her angel in the form of Compa and consumed them without a second thought.

.

.

.

"Much better…" IF, now dressed and under the effect of painkillers which dulled the pain to a simple annoyance, released a huge sigh of relief. "Kinda hard to believe it's been only twenty minutes." Just now she noticed that her chest is also glowing slightly red, but she shrugged off the matter thinking that's because of her übercharged heart.

"Ja, ja." Medic waved impatiently. "Could you call Nepgear in now? I want zhis over with already."

"Why so impatient? Are you guys going somewhere?" IF raised her eyebrow.

"Fräulein, I am zhe Doctor, zhat means I MUST be impatient." The German answered simply.

"Okay…? Why?" IF didn't see where this was going, but she decided to ask.

"Because if I stopped being impatient, I would become patient." Doctor shrugged with smirk. IF's mind thought about this for a second… then two… three…

Click.

"Oooh… I get it, real smooth, Doc." IF shortly applauded at the joke and left the room. Nepgear walked in a moment later, looking nervous as always. Compa already knew what to do.

"Hi Ge-Ge, sorry but you'll have to get undressed before we begin the operation."

.

.

.

.

.

After yet more shocked yelping, embarrassment, and Compa being too innocent to realize she's scaring her poor friend, the mostly naked CPU Candidate was lying on the surgery bed, the blush and embarrassment even more visible than with IF. Nepgear also obeyed all commands better than IF though, but it didn't take long for Medic to notice something odd with her body…

"Zhis… iz strange…" Medic frowned.

"I-Is something wrong?" Nepgear tried to look down, but Compa was faster and quickly prevented her from doing so.

"Now Ge-Ge. Mister Medic told you to not look down." She scolded.

Inside Nepgear's body, Medic found not only human organs but also… hardware? 'Fascinating, it seems like CPUs really are different from humans.' He noted.

"Vell, it seems like zhere are some… mechanical parts inside your body." Medic eyed the processor attached to Nepgear's heart, it was purplish with a power symbol in the middle. The heart was attached not only with veins, but also with black cables leading to the little white motherboard placed in the back, between the kidneys and digestive system. Curious as he was, this was a test subject too valuable to risk, and Medic was skeptical if he could cut those cables, not knowing what they or the other mechanical parts did, so he opted for something safer…

He dragged the table right next to the bed, cut the heart and placed it on said table. Luckily for him the cables reached the table so he could easily über the heart and cancel the operation if necessary.

"Medic, what are these?" Compa pointed at said black cables.

"I don't know, zhis is actually very intriguing." The Doctor remarked. 'They aren't bionic enhancements, Frau Histoire didn't seem to know about zhem till ve told her.' The German deduced. Maybe one day he'll find a chance to study the CPUs more closely, but for now this will have to be the extent.

Continuing the surgery, albeit with much more caution due to unseen complications, it took 30 minutes for the entire surgery to finish.

.

.

.

"Here, Ge-Ge. Drink these." Compa handed the painkillers to Nepgear. Like with IF she took them and gulped them nearly instantly.

"Thanks, *pant* Compa. Goodness I've never felt this bad before…"

"Vell then, you three should return to zhe Basilicom and rest now. Ve can't connect you while the nanomachines aren't vorking just yet, so ve will do it tomorrow. Plus, tomorrow's the day." Medic took a clipboard and started writing something on it.

"The day we ambush CFW Judge, right?" Nepgear asked. Medic (who had his back turned to them) waved offhand. "Ja, now raus. I have paperwork to do."

"But what about my lessons?" Compa asked, hoping she could stay, but no such luck.

"Come tomorrow, after our plan." He said indifferently, disappointing her a little, but oh well.

"Let's go, Compa, let's pick up IF and go home." Nepgear opened the doors, now feeling much better.

"Yessy!" Compa cheerfully walked behind the CPU Candidate.

* * *

 _TF2 Dictionary:_

 _\- Maincalling - Coordinating and giving directions to your team. Mostly used in matches before pushing._

 _\- Push - May refer to:_

 _1\. The act of advancing the cart._

 _2\. An organized attack in which several players simultaneously move into enemy territory and attack in an attempt to overpower an enemy's defenses and complete an objective, such as capturing a control point or advancing the cart. Often accompanied by an Übercharge._

 _3\. The CTF map Push from Team Fortress Classic._

 _-Scrims - Short for "scrimmage", referring to a practice match between two teams._

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Maincalling and Scrims**

* * *

And another chapter down. What do you think about me adding some more 'lewd' scenes. I decided to cut the operation part because 1. I have no medical knowledge. 2. Entire thing would be too long for a chapter that wasn't focused on that.

To be honest at first I planned to include 'Terrorist attacks' when IF explained what ASIC did to the world. But then it would set the Gamindustri in too dark light, the Gamindustri IS a dark place because of ASIC, but I want Mercs to paint the world even darker while wiping out ASIC.

Now that we know mercenaries' game plan, will they be able to do it? Or will CFW Judge wipe the floor with them? Will something happened to females after the operation? And will Medic's implants interfere with Nepgear's HDD?

You will find out in the future.

Respondes:

\- Piggyslayer1235

Thanks.

\- chrisfortune00

You sir just gave me great idea for some comedy moment with HDN character accidently teleporting bread. Also Histy will ask some more questions, not only she but others as well.

\- BreadNotDead

Yes, Nepgear is nervous wreck. Because from the moment she woke up she's thrown from one violent situation to another. Mwhehehe. Actually IF thinking that they're dumb WAS before they revealed that they aren't from Gamindustri, she is still skeptical about this fact but with each passing event she believes in it more and more…

\- GXLatias

I don't think I will put taunt kills here, and I have no idea what you meant by "spysurprise !things ?"

\- Harmless Orange


	9. A Cunning Plan for Clutch Pick

**Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **A Cunning Plan for Clutch Pick**

* * *

From the mercenaries to Histoire and Nepgear to even the ASIC themselves, everyone could feel the tension in the air, for today was the day of the assassination of CFW Judge. Everyone gathered in the Basilicom for one last meeting before the ambush, fully armed.

"Okay, so how are we going to bait him? Just tell him we just arrived and make him pick us up?" IF questioned.

"I'm actually surprised he still hasn't caught onto that." Histoire commented.

"Well yeah, that's the plan." Scout admitted.

"And yes, the ASIC seem to know nothing of your whereabouts, the Judge called us several times so I stalled for time." Spy smirked. "They'll never see us coming!"

"Do not get cocky, Spy, even though we have every reason to be! We are the best!" Soldier raised his voice.

"Anyvay, how do you feel, Nepgear, IF, Compa? Are zhe nanomachines vorking?" Medic questioned.

"I'm fine, those painkillers really hit the spot." IF smiled.

"I feel stronger now!" Compa chirped.

"Actually… I think something weird is happening inside me…" Nepgear anxiously admitted, and everyone fell silent and looked at her with concern.

"Something weird?" Medic and Histoire said in sync. "What do you mean?"

"I think it'd be better if I showed you." Nepgear said and activated her HDD-form, engulfing herself in white light. Histoire was understandably nervous, if something happened to Nepgear then it's game over for Planeptune, and she will never forgive herself for something like that.

Meanwhile the mercenaries watched with sudden interest. Even through all that crap they have seen during the Gravel War, they've never seen a girl suddenly shine like this, so they didn't know how to react besides stare.

When the light died down, in place of Nepgear stood her HDD version, Purple Sister. However Histoire's and IF's eyes widen when they saw the changes to her body.

Her color palette had changed, and instead of her suit and gun blade being mainly white with purple here and there, it became white and RED. Not only that, but her hair also changed and became slightly red at the ends, but barring that she looked like her normal transformed self. "Nepgear… how? When?" Histoire stuttered, her mind going blank.

'*whistle* Damn she looks hot in that.' Scout had his priorities straight as usual, but at least had the tact not to voice it out loud.

'Fascinating! I vonder how much of her has changed? The equipment only, or her entire body? Mechanical parts within and now zhis, truly a fascinating subject!' Medic could barely contain his excitement, until he noticed Histoire's reaction and realized something else. 'Frau Histoire iz surprised, iz this because of zhe transformation? Or perhaps something vent wrong zhis time?'

"I just found out this morning, when I woke up I was already in HDD." Nepgear explained while examining the changes on her skin-tight suit.

"Medic, are your implants at fault here?" Histoire questioned, her voice serious.

"Zhat… is possible." The German stood up and walked towards the 'Purple' Sister. He went behind her, and pressed two fingers at the exact spot where the Re:Spawn Chip was, making Nepgear tense, first from nervous confusion, then pain.

"What are- ack!" The CPU Candidate winced at the sharp instantaneous sting coming from her neck.

"Vas zhat brief pain?" The doctor asked, and she confirmed with a nod. "Vell zhat means zhe implants vere installed properly." The German turned to go back to his chair. Both IF and Compa out of curiosity did the same what Medic did to Nepgear, and both winced at the sharp pain indicating that all implants were successfully installed.

However, Medic didn't return to his seat without suddenly turning around and quickly trying to poke Nepgear's eyes.

Acting purely on instinct, Nepgear's hand went up to intercept and successfully did so. Histoire was surprised, both by the sudden poke and seeing how much Nepgear's reflexes and speed improved since Soldier took her and her friends to training. Still, she couldn't help but feel angry when she saw him attacking the candidate… "Medic, would you kindly explain what that was?"

"A test. Zhe reflexes are still zhere, vell done!" Medic praised as he returned to his seat proper now. "Vell, I'm not sure if something is vrong, zhe motor functions seem to be in order, but ve should be careful all the same." He finally sat down and admitted.

"Should we put off the plan since there might be something wrong with Ge-Ge?" Compa asked.

"Negatory! In war it's speed that matters, we must strike now! But!" Soldier paused for dramatic effect. And pointed at the CPU Candidate. "Nepgear! You're staying here! That is an order!"

Nepgear recoiled at Soldier's words, along with IF and Histoire but to a lesser degree. Even though the lilac-haired candidate knew better than to question orders from Soldier, she couldn't help but ask. "H-huh!? B-But why!? Didn't you train me exactly for this battle?" She argued with him. Unfortunately for her the others agreed with the crazed patriot.

"Your body iz not entirely human, so even I don't understand it fully or how the nanomachines reacted with it. Ve don't know if zhe changes are superficial or if there's something dangerous happening vith you, and the last thing any of us needs is for something to go wrong with you mid-battle." Medic countered.

"Gear, I don't really want to say this but they're right, you should stay." IF agreed with some reluctance, causing the CPU Candidate to look at her uncertainly.

"IF, you too?"

"Don't worry Ge-Ge, we won't let that bad robot beat us again!" Compa pulled both the Guild agent and the CPU Candidate into a group hug. Some mercs aww'ed in their thoughts.

"…Alright, I'll stay with Histoire this time. But you two better come back to me, alright?" Nepgear broke the hug.

"Yessy!" "Of course!"

"Oi, Engie." Sniper suddenly called, breaking the heartwarming atmosphere.

"Yeah, partner?"

"Ain't we have that 'Information Screen' software thing? Might be nice to have someone giving us info."

The girls looked among themselves in confusion. 'Information Screen'? Another one of the mercenaries' inventions? Meanwhile, Engie and rest of the mercs thought for a second before an imaginary light bulb lit above the Texan's head. "Be right back." He jogged onto the active teleporter in the corner.

"Mhm." Out of instinct, Pyro suddenly pulled out a 'Homewrecker' (a large, two-handed sledgehammer) and held it menacingly while its eyes patrolled the room like a Sentry Gun, not exactly realizing that there aren't any BLU spies around to stab his back or sap the teleporter. The girls wanted to ask… but it would probably result in yet another hard-to-get explanation, so they simply waited…

…for about 10 minutes before Engineer came back through the teleporter, with a CD Disk in his hands. "Mind givin' me a computer?" He asked, stepping off the machine.

While the group waited for Basilicom staff to provide a laptop, Histoire finally had enough and had to ask. "What exactly is this 'Information Screen' you want to install on our computer, Engineer?"

"Remember zhe Re:Spawn chips?" Medic answered.

"Yes." Histoire nodded. "They collect information sent by the nano-ah!" Histoire stopped herself from facepalming. 'That was so obvious in hindsight…'

"Yeah! And this little thing," Engineer raised the disk to emphasize. "Lets us see our 'stats', from health, weaponry and vision to even kills, assists and death counts."

"Wait… vision?" IF raised an eyebrow.

"Yep, y'all can see what others are seein' through their eyes."

"And that will help in the fight… how?" Histoire asked.

"You vill be surprised just how much you can see from outside zhe battle." Medic admitted, speaking from experience of how simply yelling 'Spy!' saved his butt countless times. "And ve can even record it for reviewing if needed."

"I see…"

The group wasted yet another 20 minutes before the Basilicom staff returned with a laptop, freshly formatted with only the operating system installed. There wasn't really much difference between this laptop and the computers Engineer was using back on Earth, hardware-wise, so Engie managed to find how and where to put the disk pretty quickly…

The problem was figuring out what to do afterwards…

IF and Nepgear couldn't help but sweatdrop as they and the rest of the group watched as one of the smartest men on Earth and Gamindustri alike tried to deduce where is what. Eventually IF's patience wore thin. "Are you serious…? Is this really your first time using a computer?" The Guild agent snapped. The Texan simply answered by pointing his gloved hand at himself and saying "Otherworldly." without batting an eye at her. "Just give me that…" She sighed, taking the laptop and quickly finding the disk drive and starting the installation. An installation window popped up. "There… now what?" She glanced at the Texan.

"Next…"

.

.

.

.

.

"There! All ready!" IF's emerald eyes stared onto the screen, she's also transmitting it onto the touchwall so everyone can clearly see what's happening without looking over her shoulder. "Alright, now lemme see that." The Texan typed his password and Re:Spawn Chip ID into the software…

And the girls eyes widen…

 **Codename: Engineer**

 **Affiliation: Reliable Excavation Demolition (RED)**

 **Default Primary Weapon: Shotgun**

 **Default Secondary Weapon: Pistol**

 **Default Melee Weapon: Golden Wrench**

 **Default Max Health: 125 Points**

 **Work Time: 36,072 : 34 : 31**

 **Kills: 1358812**

 **Assists: 1045234**

 **Deaths: 1146134**

 **K/D: 1.186**

 **Score: 1526345**

 **Longest Life On the Battlefield: 37 : 29 : 09**

 **Biggest Killstreak: 23**

Histoire couldn't help but gulp when she saw his kill count. He killed over a FREAKIN MILLION after all. What's also very concerning is that he DIED just as much… "I-Is… that an accurate number?" She stuttered.

"Yes." Engie grumbled while stroking his chin, feeling pretty irritated by the fact that his K/D was pretty low, less than 2 kills per death, even if that's the result of evening out all the battles over his career, in many of which he had hugely differing performance as his best killstreak could attest. IF wanted to say something… but she couldn't bring herself to say anything… However the silence was broken by the sound of chuckling.

"Hardhat, hardhat, hardhat... Only 1 kill per death? Pfft! Show my stats and you'll see who's the best!" The Bostonian bragged, punching his fist with a shit-eating grin.

"Nope." .avi.

"Huh? C'mon Engie, you chickenin' out?"

"Scout. Stop." Histoire ordered before someone got melted by acid again. The mercenary prepared himself to argue with her but her stern gaze shut him up. 'She looked like The Administrator for a secon' there...' He thought, feeling intimidated by the tiny little fairy.

"Anyvay," Medic decided that's enough shenanigans, "Herr Engineer, could you connect zhe girls to zhe Respawn system?"

"Heck yeah! Nepgear, you first." Engineer moved the laptop to Compa, who passed it to IF and further till it was in front of Nepgear.

"O-Okay…" The Candidate mumbled and awkwardly started filling out the fields like Codename, at first she just typed 'Nepgear' but Spy pointed out that it can't be her actual name, so she opted for 'CPU Candidate'.

"But why?" IF couldn't help but ask.

"Mmpgh phul." Pyro mumbled an answer which only added more confusion for the girls.

"Umm, sorry but we can't understand you." Compa stated, causing the mumbling abomination to drop his shoulders, looking pretty sad.

"It's an unspoken rule of ours, hope y'all can respect that." Engie explained. IF made the 'ahh' sound and nodded.

"I see." Histoire absentmindedly said while looking at the registration screen. A few minutes later Nepgear was ready, but not without her being confused over her Re:Spawn Chip ID and having Medic take yet another journey to the Hotel via teleporter. 'These teleporters really are a convenient means of travel. Not only have they saved us hours of time but they even let someone like Nepgear travel between locations both faster and unseen. Even if the respawn technology is too dangerous, if we could get them to share their teleportation tech with us, or even develop our own version… I wonder what Nepgear's thinking of them…' Histoire pondered, ever thinking of ways to better the lives of her citizens.

The German arrived over 5 minutes later, a clipboard in his hands with all the implants' parameters written on it. He typed the ID on the screen and after he checked all other fields he pressed the enter button…

 **Linking…**

 **14%...**

 **36%...**

 **65%...**

 **DONE!**

 **Gathering Information…**

 **1%...**

 **2%...**

 **3%...**

…

 **31%...**

 **32%...**

 **ERROR ALERT! ERROR ALERT!**

'Error!?' Medic, Engineer, Nepgear and Histoire thought in sync and alarm.

 **Debugging…**

 **10%...**

 **35%...**

 **72%...**

 **99%...**

 **DONE!**

 **Gathering Information…**

 **1%...**

 **2%...**

 **3%...**

…

 **97%...**

 **98%...**

 **99%...**

 **DONE!**

 **Sorting…**

 **99%...**

 **DONE!**

 **Codename: CPU Candidate**

 **Affiliation: Reliable Excavation Demolition (RED)**

 **Default Melee Weapon: Beam Saber**

 **Default Ranged Weapon: The Shortstop** (a four-barreled pistol with a pearl grip modified into a pepper-box and loaded with shotgun shells.)

 **Default HDD Primary Weapon: Gun Blade**

 **Default Max Health: 150 Points**

 **Default HDD Max Health: 350 Points**

 **Work Time: 0 : 0 : 0**

 **Kills: 0**

 **Assists: 0**

 **Deaths: 0**

 **K/D: 0**

 **Score: 0**

 **Longest Life On the Battlefield: 0 : 0 : 0**

 **Biggest Killstreak: 0**

Everyone in the room stared at Nepgear's stats. Heavy was pretty miffed since someone managed to beat his record of 300 health points. Nepgear and Compa were amazed that it even listed what she's carrying and got a picture of her (with her current clothes no less).

Engie, Spy, Medic and Histoire wondered how the nanomachines were able to figure out Nepgear's HDD stats, and all of them except Histoire also wondered what HDD itself was, though the three of them in particular had a pretty good guess on the answer. The others were a little slower. "Wot is that HDD thing there?" Demo, who kept silent for the whole time decided to ask. The fairy oracle sighed and braced herself to give yet another lecture, but Nepgear beat her to it.

"HDD stands for Hard Drive Divinity, it's that transformation I showed earlier, but it didn't look like that before." The lilac-haired girl explained briefly, and that's all the mercs wanted to know.

Afterwards it was IF's turn, giving the laptop to the Medic so he could put the ID in first before filling in the rest herself and confidently pressed enter. The process of generating the account went smoother than in Nepgear's case and without any errors or bugs.

 **Codename: Guild Agent**

 **Affiliation: Reliable Excavation Demolition (RED)**

 **Default Melee Weapon: Katars**

 **Default Ranged Weapon: The Winger**

 **Default Max Health: 175 Points**

 **Work Time: 0 : 0 : 0**

 **Kills: 0**

 **Assists: 0**

 **Deaths: 0**

 **K/D: 0**

 **Score: 0**

 **Longest Life On the Battlefield: 0 : 0 : 0**

 **Biggest Killstreak: 0**

"How does it even know how much health we got? How does it quantify that?" IF thought out loud. Engie raised a finger, thought for a moment and lowered it. Scout, seeing his chance to act smart, spoke up with shrug.

"Oh that's easy, it's… uhh… nanomachines. Yeah. Either way it's pretty accurate."

IF took the explanation at face value and wordlessly passed the laptop to Compa who cheerfully as always began filling the fields…

 **Codename: Nurse (In training)**

 **Affiliation: Reliable Excavation Demolition (RED)**

 **Default Melee Weapon: Poisoned Syringe**

 **Default Ranged Weapon: The Overdose** (a prototype Syringe Gun, sporting a white and team-colored needle disposal container in place of a needle cache.)

 **Default Max Health: 100 Points**

 **Work Time: 0 : 0 : 0**

 **Kills: 0**

 **Assists: 0**

 **Deaths: 0**

 **K/D: 0**

 **Score: 0**

 **Longest Life On the Battlefield: 0 : 0 : 0**

 **Biggest Killstreak: 0**

"Aww, why so little?" Compa complained while looking at her own health, feeling only slightly disappointed. IF patted her shoulder to try to cheer her up, which worked.

"Damn… Even I 'ave more health when I'm usin' Sandman. It's the least health I've ever seen!" The "Scunt", living up to his derogatory nickname, commented offhandedly, causing Spy and IF to give him a look. "What?" The mercenary noticed the looks, but couldn't figure out why they're glaring at him. All Spy did was shake his head in disappointment, muttering "[He's a lost cause.]" under his breath and clearing his throat.

"Congratulations! Now that all of you are successfully connected to our respawn system we shall begin."

* * *

"Goddamnit Administrator!"

Miss Pauling swore angrily as she pumped the shotgun and fired at the annoying Robo-Scout who's running towards her with a crit-boosted bat. She was glad that random crit kicked in and destroyed the robot in one shot. She corrected her glasses and started reloading the shotgun inside the cave next to the right line.

Administrator said the Decoy base was supposed to be guarded by the last wave of robots…

What she DIDN'T say is that the supposed wave is ranked 666 in threat level… And that rank was only ever reached before during the fifth Coal Town siege, which was against ZOMBIES instead of robots… To this day they're not exacly sure if that was Merasmus's or Gray Mann's fault.

"Saxton HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALE!" Saxton Hale, an overly ripped Australian, capable of fighting a lion while having a haircut (A proven fact, there are several pictures of it). He's wearing only leather boots, blue shorts and a crocodile-tooth lined hat. His exposed chest hair is in the shape of Australia and his mustache is so thick that you could hide small items there. He doesn't need a shirt, because he's the CEO of Mann Co. and the strongest and MANNLIEST man on earth.

The CEO of Mann Co. jumped several feet into the air and was falling right into the middle of a swarm of crit-boosted Robo-Heavies, over thirty of them. The Tin Cans opened fire with their miniguns, but they weren't able to stop his descent, as the Australian's seemingly bulletproof skin simply reflected everything he was shot with.

"You big head wankers!" The BLU Sniper shouted and fired a single full-charged round at a Robo-Heavy's head. The bullet effortlessly penetrated the metal head, destroying it and causing all the nearby robots to get severely damaged as well thanks to the 'Explosive Headshot' upgrade!

"Hey! They're mine!" Saxton Hale roared as he landed, the shockwave turning the already weakened robots into scrap. Still on guard he did a 360 to look for a new target, and found it in the form of giant Rapid-Firing Black Box (a black, rectangular rocket launcher) Robo-Soldiers, all three of them.

Saxton Hale grinned and braced himself for another "Brave Jump!" And jumped another thirty feet because screw gravity. The giants locked onto him and fired, nine rockets suddenly flying at him, but he simply brought his legs to his chest…

And started falling MUCH faster.

The Australian landed on the first Robo-Soldier's head, crushing the entire upper half of its body like an empty can of Bonk! The remaining two other bots started reloading, but the mannliest CEO punched one of them in the 'stomach' first, causing its metal body to bend and break under the sheer power of punches with force of over 2,700 pounds per square inch.

Then the Australian followed with an uppercut to the robot's head, severing it and sending it flying a few kilometers into the sky.

It was flying so fast that it was sent forward in time, killing 5 birds in the future and causing the Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash in 2010 by knocking the plane off balance and making it crash into the trees.

Anyway, with the second Black Box Robo-Soldier destroyed, the final one finished reloading. But it found itself unable to aim at its target, due to Saxton Hale's muscular right arm holding the rocket launcher while the left one teared the robot apart like it was made of paper! Soon enough all that was left was scrap metal.

The BLU Sniper took aim at another group of robots, only to suddenly hear a decloak sound right behind him, followed by gunshot. He grabbed his kukri and spun around, decapitating the Robo-Spy who raised its hand to backstab. There was another one but it was dealt with already by Miss Pauling. She pumped the shotgun and nodded at him, he nodded back…

…and saw a sniper rifle's laser dot on Miss Pauling's forehead that wasn't his own…

His eyes widening, the BLU Sniper pushed Miss Pauling out of the bullet's trajectory, getting himself there instead.

However instead of gunshot, all they heard was a robotic Sniper's loud yell of pain. Both of them looked at the source and saw BLU Spy backing off while firing his revolver at two Robo-Snipers, both of them running towards the Frenchie with their kukris pulled out. There was also another Robo-Sniper but it was dead, most likely due to Spy's backstab.

The Australian reacted quickly and saved his teammate with a well-placed quick shot to the head of one Robo-Sniper, again Explosive Headshot kicked in and dealt with the other Robo-Sniper as well. BLU Spy looked at his teammate, saw him waving, and simply nodded before cloaking out.

Near the 'Mann Co. Hatch of Great Importance' the BLU Scout was standing alone against a bunch of critical-boosted Robo-Soldiers under the 'Battalion's Backup's' (a military backpack-mounted radio transceiver, with a bronze-colored bugle with a pewter mouthpiece, and a tattered yellow triangular banner that is displayed when the buff is active) effect, making them immune to critical hits and receiving 35% less damage overall.

However it posed no problem for the BLU Scout, who had his Scattergun upgraded with more damage and bullet penetration, in addition to the 4 point health regeneration and 60% resistance to bullet and explosive damage. Plus increased jump height.

He was doing circles around the group, taking care to be in the air as long as possible in order to avoid splash damage from the rockets. "Nice aim, morons!" He taunted, shooting two meatshots into one of the Robo-Soldier, destroying it and damaging everything behind it, before jumping into the air once more.

From wall to wall, then on top of the fence and a quick sprint to the other side. Repeat. All while shooting at the group or reloading, to show off he even did a few front flips midair!

The mercenaries fought for two more hours. Saxton Hale obliterated bigger threats, and every other robot who so much as looked at him. Sniper expertly dispatched groups and made sure nothing had a jump on his employer. Spy took care of the Robo-Snipers or Robo-Spies from the shadows, also aiding Saxton Hale with the giants using his 'Armor Penetration' upgraded knife. Scout was running around making sure they weren't overrun, and Miss Pauling mostly helped where she could… not being used to frontline work, much less fighting against robots hordes.

Thanks to the Power Up Canteens with Ammo Refill power ups, the mercs rarely ran thin on ammo, and their wounds were automatically healed due to all of them having at least one point in Health Regeneration upgrade.

Eventually all the robots were destroyed, and the group could move on onto the next plan.

"Now that was a good warm-up!" Saxton Hale grinned, not even breaking a sweat as he put both his hands on his hips. "Shame that's all of it, I missed a good brawl like that!"

"Is it over? *huff huff* W-Where's the Carrier Tank?" Unlike Saxton Hale, Miss Pauling was very exhausted, and had to lean against the wooden wall, panting, in order to not collapse out of fatigue.

"That big gray tank? It left after the giant Robo-Heavies arrived." Saxton shrugged. "That was a great Mad Milk there, little man." The Australian praised the Scout, slapping his shoulder. The sheer weight of his muscular arm caused Scout's shoulder to dislodge and knock him onto the dirt.

"Thanks… boss." The Bostonian mumbled, spitting the gravel out of his mouth.

"Damn, Gray Mann is more careful than we thought. Maybe we can at least get RED Engineer's teleporter."

"They took it." Miss Pauling's eyes widened as she looked at the BLU Spy decloaking, appearing out of thin air as he rejoined the group. "The robots took that teleporter." He repeated.

* * *

While the other mercenaries prepared themselves, Spy took both girls and Scout to the spotter's room to prepare the bait for CFW Judge.

"Alors, Mademoiselle Guild Agent, Nurse. We will have to do some… cosmetic, changes on you." Spy said while writing a note, handing it to Scout who read it quickly.

"Gotcha!" The mercenary saluted with two fingers to the girls and quickly went downstairs without taking the stairs. In other words he jumped out of the window, did a somersault and landed on his feet before running off to the teleporter.

"Just call me IF. The codename thing's still kinda awkward for me." IF crossed her arms.

"I see."

"Cosmetic changes?" Compa questioned, looking purely confused. She's carrying the Quick Fix just as Medic told her, glad to be of help in any way. She also wore shorts under her skirt as he told her… for whatever reason.

"Simply put, we need you to look tired, ragged, to make our lie more believable." Frenchie explained.

Meanwhile in the Basilicom, Histoire and Nepgear were sitting in the media room and watching footage from the Information Screen from Spy's point of view. "They really put a lot of thought into this, huh." Nepgear commented, impressed by the attention to detail and feeling pretty glad the mercenaries are on their side. It would be really hard to fight against such cunning and strong enemies on top of ASIC.

"We do have only one chance at this, so I can understand their caution. I guess they had many do-or-die moments like this before, I believe the Scout used a term to name situations like these. What was it, 'clutch' I think?" Histoire nodded, switching the view to Medic's.

"True, I'm sure they're really experienced… but I still wonder what they're trying to do with THAT." Nepgear sweatdropped.

'I more wonder HOW they managed to get it…' Histoire thought.

"I am fully charged!" Medic proudly raised his sparking Medi-Gun. The Soldier had been helping him build the übercharge by shooting a wall with his 'Direct Hit' (a high-tech rocket launcher with a slimmer barrel and rockets that trade explosive radius for speed and damage)… while standing inches from said wall and making the rockets explode in his face. Painfully. Much to Histoire and Nepgear's confusion and concern, but they wrote it off as another something they don't understand but the mercs do.

"I am ready!" Medic turned his gaze to the annex above him. Engineer stood there with a Golden Wrench in his hands, next to a level three Sentry Gun, the Rescue Ranger's (It resembles the normal Shotgun, but has a small monitor for a scope showing a moving sine wave, connected to a distance sensor) handle peeking over his shoulder, and with the 'Wrangler' in his pouch.

For reasons Histoire couldn't understand, Engineer built only 1 Sentry Gun and Dispenser, the Sentry Gun scanning the innards of warehouse complex, however it can also have a clear line of vision to the bridge and is able to shoot there if necessary.

The dispenser was hidden inside the centre building, just right behind the entrance so it wouldn't take long for others to reach it.

The teleporter entrance was placed right in front of the Resupply Room in the hotel. It leads to the exit placed in the little shack just outside the complex, so the mercs can quickly return when they die but it's not too close to the battlefield where the teleporter will be endangered.

Seeing in Medic's peripheral vision Scout running back, Histoire decided it's time to switch back to the Spy's vision. Histoire noted how convenient something like this can be, since she and Nepgear were able to see the status of not only the one they're looking through, but also the health of other teammates as well, Nepgear included.

"-heck… is that?" IF asked, eyeing the buckets Scout's carrying, one of them filled with water, also a washcloth on its edge, but the second one was filled with… blue gel…

Dogoo remains…

"Just to add to the credibility, we will put some monster blood on your clothes, so it'll look like you battled your way through the wilderness." Spy took the cloth and dipped it in the water. IF and Compa couldn't help but feel a little disgusted by the slime…

"Do we have to…?"

"Oh don't complain, it'll wash off fine!"

Histoire decided it's better to move onto the other mercenaries…

Sniper was zeroing the scope of his Hitman's Heatmaker (a somewhat stubby sniper rifle with a suppressor), using the Sentry Gun as reference. Pyro is sitting at spawn, figuring out its loadout, namely if it should take the basic Flare Gun or the Scorch Shot. Demoman is drinking as always, but the difference is it seems he's working on some bombs.

Soldier… Histoire and Nepgear couldn't really see what's going on, all they saw was the ground and his hands, as if he was doing pushups but he's doing them so fast that he became a blur. Heavy was reading a book, which Histoire and Nepgear couldn't really figure out since they've never seen that language before. Scout and Spy were painting Compa and IF blue, respectively.

Medic is overhealing everyone he sees and Engineer is relaxing on a lawn chair… which he took out of seemingly nowhere.

Eventually the girls and Spy, who will be disguised as Nepgear, were ready, and with that the plan was put into motion.

Or like the Administrator once said…

"If you _have_ any loved ones, say goodbye to them now."

* * *

 _TF2 Dictionary:_

 _\- Meatshot_

 _When all of the pellets fired from spread weapons such as the Shotgun or Scattergun hit the target, thereby doing massive damage. The term was made famous by Daniel "carnagejohnson" Sturdivant._

 _\- Clutch_

 _A crucial moment related to winning or losing a match._

 _The ability to perform under pressure._

 _Not to be confused with Crutch._

 _\- Crutch_

 _A derogatory term for a weapon that compensates for a player's lack of skill._

 _Not to be confused with Clutch._

 _\- Pick / Picking / Picked_

 _The act of focusing on and killing an enemy with minimal help._

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **A Cunning Plan for Clutch Pick**

* * *

And there goes the last filler before Mercenaries vs. CFW Judge battle. I wonder how many of you are pretty disappointed by it, but meh. I hope you liked the battle segment with Saxton bloody _fucking_ HALE! A man so mannly that is able to take down any foe on his own.

On a side note… I seriously want someone to draw me the new 'Purple' Sister, I need to see her in red colors.

Responds:

\- chrisfortune00

Hey, thanks for kind words. I hope you enjoyed this chapter too.

\- Piggyslayer1235

I kinda can't get on quicker with these chapters… unless you really like them to be half-assed.

And I will take your medical knowledge, might be useful.

\- BreadNotDead

YES! Fanservice FTW!

This is the reason why I rate M all my fics, because I can put everything I want there and no one would stop me c:

And Nepgear will be pretty powerful, yes, but there will be a drawback to the HDD to balance things out. I just need to think about it.


	10. Felony Judgment

**Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Felony Judgment**

* * *

CFW Judge's visual system 'stared' at the sudden text message he received. It was from the ASIC lieutenant he set up in the old warehouses, Maxie and her grunts.

 _Maxie: We've finally found them, boss! Sending a picture now…_

 _Maxie: Here._

Following it was a picture of IF, Compa and Nepgear, all of them covered in sweat and Dogoo slime. Compa and IF were sitting on the sofa and leaning against each other while panting, while Nepgear lay on another couch, wiping some sweat off her face with her hand. Scout, who the Judge didn't recognize at all, was sitting on the chair between the three of them, and his presence raised Judge's suspicion a bit.

 _Me: Who's that weakling sitting in the picture, the one with the red shirt?_

 _Maxie: The new face I mentioned. He's bratty and stupid but the fastest guy I've seen. Anyway, boss we might need some help finishing the job._

At that, the first thing that went through his mind was 'FINALLY something interesting! I was dying from boredom!', but then the fact that Maxie of all people asked for help raised a red flag in the Judge's head. He decided to stop texting and call her instead.

"You've never asked for help before..." One of the Four Felons said instantly when Maxie answered the call.

"I don't want to screw this up. We've never faced a goddess before and I'm not stupid enough to face them without someone who's definitely stronger than her." The lieutenant explained. Judge took a few seconds to analyze her voice, but everything seemed fine. Maybe that headstrong fool has a more sensible side afterall. Either way her logic's sound, and with the Candidate and her weakling friends finally within reach, he can have his revenge for what they did to him in the Graveyard!

"Whatever. Stall them as long as possible, I'll be there shortly." He ordered, hanging up before Maxie even had a chance to reply. Judge chuckled while he powered up his thrusters and took to the air, flying as fast as possible in the direction of Planeptune. As he flew, he imagined all the things he's going to do to Nepgear once he gets his hands on her. '-Rip out her eyeballs to make her blind! Cut out her tongue with rusty tailor scissors! The second I put my hands on her I WILL MAKE HER SCREAM!' He snarled internally, eager for vengeance, and vengeance he will exact soon. He doubted that Maxie would pull a prank on him, knowing how it would end for her if that information proved to be fake.

It took him about 20 minutes to get from the Gamindustri Graveyard to the warehouse complex. Just as he landed he noticed that his thrusters' fuel level was low, so he won't be able to fly back to the Graveyard if anything happens there now… Not that anything will, of course. He also noticed the lack of grunts in the area, but the CFW wrote it off as them overseeing his targets. However he did spot Maxie impatiently starring at him, her whip brandished and activated. "Where are they?" Judge landed and rested his axe on his shoulder. Maxie nodded to the warehouse on the left and smirked.

"They're waitin' for ya!"

Judge nodded and proceeded silently. He knows that he usually appears unstable, loud and bloodthirsty, but he's also a killer robot who knows when to shut up if it means he can delight in the CPU Candidate's horror and panic in more clarity.

Just as he was about punch the doors open…

"Surprise!"

A clearly male voice was all he heard before he suddenly found himself paralyzed. He tried to spin around and destroy whoever was there, but the Judge was unable to act, as the RED Spy had dropped his disguise and quickly slammed a sapper onto the mecha's back, short-circuiting and stunning him for a while.

"Now!"

And all hell broke loose…

The courtyard was flooded by mercenaries, all of them opening fire on the Judge. The doors that Judge was about to open revealed IF healed by Compa and Heavy healed by Medic. "Here I come!" Heavy roared, spinning up his minigun and unleashing a storm of bullets into Judge's torso.

IF led Compa onto the courtyard, so they'll have somewhere to retreat in case Judge suddenly breaks free, just like the mercenaries planned. Both girls pulled out their guns and started shooting as well, aiming at the Judge's right hand, which was clutching his axe.

Scout jumped onto CFW's head, the flash bang created by Demoman in his hand. He pulled out the pin and held it in front of Judge's face. "Flash bang!" He yelled before the grenade exploded in his hands, his warning making sure he only blinded himself before falling off with a scream. The Judge however… was unaffected by it due to the Sapper crashing his vision system already. Scout was caught by Pyro before he hit the ground and dragged back onto the small metal bridge between the buildings, with Compa quickly running towards him and healing him with the Quick-Fix from the ground. Eventually he regained his vision and ability to hear, shooting the CFW in the neck with his pistol.

Soldier and Demoman were shooting his back with the Direct Hit and Grenade Launcher respectively. The explosions had little effect on the thick armor, but they kept shooting regardless.

Sniper was shooting fully-charged bullets into Judge's head; he grimaced as he found that the bullets only embed themselves in his armor instead of penetrating his head.

Engineer just finished reconstructing his Sentry Gun and used the Wrangler to shoot off Judge's thrusters with double firing speed.

Spy… as a true Frenchman was nowhere to be seen…

Bullets, rockets, syringes, flames. CFW Judge soaked up all the damage the mercenaries threw at him. The armor was thicker and better made than Gray Mann's tanks, which the mercs found out pretty quickly but still continued their onslaught while the CFW slowly but surely reached towards the Sapper on his back and crushed it, finally setting himself free.

The moment he was finally able to move again, the hulking Judge swung his giant axe around with a wordless war cry, instantly destroying the Sentry Gun and slashing Engineer in the stomach, the Texan retreated back to the Dispenser, both hands trying to prevent his organs from spilling onto the ground; the axe penetrated the bridge like paper and cleaved the Demolition Man in half, instantly killing him; Soldier only narrowly avoided the same fate by jumping off the bridge, same with Scout who easily avoided the weapon thanks to his agility, but Pyro and Sniper weren't so lucky and were slashed apart as well…

The spin ended at Heavy Weapons Guy, the giant weapon embedding itself into the mercenary's torso and getting stuck there, barely above his heart. Just as the Judge was about to rip the axe out of his body, Heavy dropped his minigun and grabbed the axe's handle, using his enormous strength to stop the weapon from leaving his body for as long as possible. Histoire and Nepgear watched anxiously as his health slowly dropped, even with the Medi-Gun healing him.

Soldier and Scout decided to help their dying teammate, the former rocket-jumping high into the air (causing Histoire and Nepgear's jaws to drop) and pulling out the Market Gardener, an entrenching shovel with a special property while mid-air; as gravity tugged him back to earth, the crazed patriot brought the weapon down and delivered a solid critical smack to the head, embedding the shovel deep in the mecha's head. "Get a haircut, trashcan." He even taunted once he landed deftly on the ground, adding insult to injury while reloading his Direct Hit.

The latter used his double jump to climb back onto the annex and jumped onto Judge's head where he unloaded his entire shotgun clip point-blank into the armor and even did a cocky dance on top of his head, yelling out insults to get the CFW's attention.

The distraction worked and Judge's hands left the axe, but before Heavy could finally rip the weapon out of his body and use it against the wielder, Judge snatched the agile merc off his head with his giant hand and slammed Scout's body onto it, back first. The axe's blade sliced through the mercenary's body like hot knife through butter, killing him with a dying scream. Then the ASIC Leader went back to the tug-of-war with Heavy, who only fell onto his knee from the force.

With nearly half of the team dead and Re:Spawning, Spy and IF decided it's time to interfere; the former jumped onto Judge's back and began climbing the machine, still cloaked, and the latter jammed her Katars into Judge's right elbow, preventing the arm from moving. "Get off me!" The Felon punched the Guild Agent hard in the face, taking a hefty chunk of her health and launching her onto the hard dirty floor, causing Nepgear and Histoire to wince on the other side of the monitor. Compa rushed in to heal her friend who quickly recovered and got back to distracting the CFW.

Feeling something on his back and remembering the initial device that actually managed to cripple him for a while, Judge abandoned his axe once more in order to search for the Spy. Heavy finally had a chance to rip the weapon out and use it against him, throwing the axe like a spear and embedding it into his left shoulder.

Just as the Spy decloaked and was about to finish this by backstabbing the giant with an Armor Penetration knife, Judge grabbed his foot and yanked him away; before the spook had time to react CFW Judge had taken his other leg and started pulling his legs in opposite directions. A sudden rocket caused him to drop the Frenchie but it was too late…

With that dealt with and earning a bloodcurdling scream in the process, Judge plucked his axe from his shoulder and started spinning it above his body, slamming it on top of Soldier, who tried to dodge but was too slow, the massive blade cutting off his legs. The mad American didn't have time to bleed though, and a short yell of pain later the Soldier aimed his rocket launcher at Judge for another shot, only for the rocket to be deflected back at him and blew him to pieces. Heavy and Medic used Soldier's distraction to put themselves between Judge and the girls, protecting them with their lives!

With only two threats left (he still didn't register the two girls as dangerous), Judge again started to spin the axe above his head, preparing for another lethal swing; the Heavy didn't find himself very intimidated though. He simply picked up his minigun and started firing…

And then…

"I AM ANGRY!"

The Russian roared and activated his 'Rage', causing him to deal half his normal damage but give his bullets enough force to push even the CFW away! Taken by surprise by this ability, the Judge lost his balance and fell onto his back, leaving his anti-gravity engine exposed. The Felon quickly ripped a chunk of dirt from the ground and threw it at Heavy, briefly blinding him with gravel in his eyes and throwing his aim a little before the Medi-Gun cleared his vision. That brief amount of time was all Judge needed, as he quickly scrambled up in order to protect his weak spot. Ever observant, Histoire noticed the mecha's defensive actions and noted it for future review.

Before the Felon could even think of a counter-attack, IF suddenly blocked his vision. She used Heavy as a stepping stone to jump onto the ASIC Leader's head and wrap her legs around his neck, the machine's smaller head and neck (relative to the rest of his titanic chassis) allowing her to do so, then started scratching at his eyes with her Katars; the Guild Agent managed to attack 4 times before Judge spun his axe and knocked her away with the handle, sending her to the ground and separating her from the Nurse-In-Training as well! IF however still succeeded in doing some damage, leaving 4 very visible scratches over his lenses which hinder his sight a little.

Even still, Judge ignored the girl to focus on the bigger threat in the form of the angry Russian with German and Nurse-In-Training healing him up. A sudden clicking sound however was heard by everyone, and Heavy awkwardly stopped his minigun and exchanged troubled looks with his teammates while the CFW chuckled mockingly.

"Finally ran outta ammo, eh? Hehehe, good, now just stand still and let me enjoy your death! It's Judgement Time!" The ASIC Leader raised his weapon and unleashed his signature move, slamming the handle in front of Heavy and causing the area to explode violently! Medic just barely saved his teammate by popping up the Übercharge, letting the Russian be thrown across the courtyard and stop upon hitting the wall hard, but stay unscratched. The machine of course wasn't expecting such a move neither. "What the!? What is this!? How did you survive that!?" The Judge sputtered and disbelief and continued his onslaught, bringing down his axe several more times, only for all his attacks to bounce off the grinning red Russian, who took his minigun and started retreating to Engineer's dispenser.

"Go! Go! Go!" He ordered IF and Compa to retreat, and both of them nodded and started running as well! Furious and unrelenting, the Judge chased after them.

"You think your little tricks will save you forever? You will be judged!"

The mecha caught up pretty quickly and launched into an overhead slash! Heavy caught the blow with both of his giant hands, even though the Übercharge had ended already. The rest of the group looked at him and the robot he's keeping at bay. "Move gear up!" He shouted over his shoulder, and Medic nudged IF and started running away, the girls following shortly.

With the girls and Medic safe, for now, the Russian's eyes went back to the machine with a determined look. "Why waste bullet on such a tiny giant?" Heavy cracked his neck.

Judge merely laughed at the taunt. "Ahahaha! Interesting! Yes, I will slaughter you with my bare hands!" The mecha withdrew his axe and holstered it back into his hammer space, the weapon simply dissolving away into pixels that faded into the air. Heavy grew confused by the strangely disappearing weapon, but forced that thought away and cracked his knuckles.

"Fight!"

With the sound of a bell out of nowhere, which confused Histoire and Nepgear and even CFW Judge, Heavy rushed and delivered a solid uppercut to CFW's jaw. "Take that!" Heavy had to jump to deliver this blow but it didn't stop him from following with a left hook to the side. "And this!" Another uppercut! "And that-"

"Not this time!"

Judge used his height advantage to block the uppercut with his right hand, then countered by slamming his left fist on top of the Heavy's bald head, cracking his skull and leaving him staggering for a moment, enough for Judge to follow up with a right jab to Heavy's face, breaking his nose and knocking him onto his back.

When Judge stood over the blood covered Heavy, the Russian merely grinned at his reaper. "до свидания!" (Translation: 'Goodbye!') Heavy said as he activated the 'Suicide Command'; with the sound of the neck breaking, his body fell limp and faded away, the molecules collected up by the Re:Spawn system.

"…What?" CFW Judge 'blinked' and stared at the spot where Heavy lay a few seconds ago. He looked around and found no trace of the man… and roared at the sky in fury. "AARRGGHH! Bastard! Won't even give me the satisfaction!" The hulking machine smashed a fist into the ground, hard enough to cause the very earth to quake, before slowly calming back down just enough to function. "…No matter! There's still three more! I AM going to mangle someone today!"

Storming off to hunt down the runaways, he soon spotted IF around the corner, who darted back into the central building upon seeing him. The machine instantly noted it's a trap, but then rejected it as being any kind of threat. The last of those men looked like a medic, useless on his own, and what can the two weak girls do to him anyway? Hah!

A lot of things as he would find out soon…

After entering the room with his axe re-deployed, a sudden explosion slightly above him knocked him onto the cold floor. All he heard was a beep before a level 3 Sentry Gun started mercilessly firing at him! Facing a surge of bullets and rockets while prone, the ASIC Leader had to raise a hand to shield himself from the onslaught; shortly after, a cylinder-like object landed beneath said hand, and Judge stared at it before his eyes 'widened'.

A flashbang.

 ***BANG***

The entire respawned team (minus Heavy) ran out of cover and started attacking him once more. Judge thrashed and swung his axe blindly, knocking the furniture and destroying the walls, but hitting nothing of importance. "GAHH! NOT AGAIN! My eyes! MY EYES! YOU WEAKLINGS WILL P- AAAaaaaaaaahhhhHHHhhhuUUuuueeeEEEEeeaaAAAaaaaahHHHHH-" A sapper later and CFW was unable to move once more save for usual spasms due to short circuits. This time it was placed in a more tricky location so Judge can't destroy it so easily again, and while the hulking mecha was paralyzed, the mercenaries and girls unleashed everything they had with renewed anger and vigor.

'Impossible… I lost?' The Judge thought as he felt his armor finally cracking, bullets, syringes and shrapnel finally taking effect on his overheated armor from the Pyro's flames.

'It can't be… I killed them all… didn't I?' Bullets dug deeper and deeper into his armor… Some mercs focused on his eyes, destroying them and leaving him blind permanently…

'No matter… I don't care how they survived…' The paralyzed titan fell onto one shredded knee. The Judge couldn't even move a finger due to the Sapper short circuiting him….

…But there was one thing he could still do.

'If I fall here…'

.

.

.

 **'Then I'll take them to hell with me!'**

 ***BOOM***

Histoire and Nepgear jumped as they heard a massive explosion, only this one wasn't heard through the Spectate system, it was heard from outside! The information screen showed everyone, all the mercenaries and IF and Compa, all dead and in the middle of Re:Spawn. The screen, having nothing else, showed footage from Nepgear's eyes, and it was gradually beginning to shake as time passed.

"What… was that?" Nepgear cautiously began, starring at her friends' status, particularly the 'dead' part… panic slowly rising in her chest… 'N-No it can't be… They aren't…. they can't…' Nepgear's mind started to grow blank. All she could do was think of the worst case scenario that her only friends just died…

'W-what if the respawn doesn't work? O-o-or if they won't respawn properly? W-Will the Medi-Gun be able to heal them?'

Histoire looked at the CPU Candidate's face, noting the rising panic inside of her.

"Nepgear. Look at me."

The Oracle's voice succeeded in bringing the lilac-haired girl out of her thoughts, and the CPU Candidate wordlessly complied. Keeping her own anxiety under control, the fairy met Nepgear's slightly shaky eyes with a comforting smile. "It's going to be alright Nepgear, I'm sure the Respawn system will bring them back. We already saw it work once on the mercenaries, it'll work fine again." Histoire reassured the candidate, going as far as to place a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"But still-"

"Let's just go and see what that explosion was. I'll need confirmation, but if my guess is correct-" Histoire took her hand and led her out of the room, where they met one of the Basilicom Staff frantically running towards them.

"L-Lady Nepgear! O-Oracle Histoire!" He stuttered, unable to catch a breath.

"Calm down and take a deep, slow breath." He did as the fairy told him, gradually calm down. "Good. Now what is it?" The fairy asked, though she could guess what this was about.

"There's just been an explosion at the west entrance of Planeptune! The entire warehouse complex built there was destroyed!" He announced. Nepgear's eyes widened.

"E-Entire complex!?" She couldn't help but yelp in disbelief, but the Basilicom Staff nodded.

"That's right, we don't know the full scale of damage yet, but the Guild has already sent a group of agents to investigate! The report should be delivered shortly."

"I see…" The Oracle nodded. "I have a theory about the cause of the explosion, could you please request the Guild to search for the remains of the individual named CFW Judge." Even if they couldn't see it, the Basilicom Staff's eyes widened from shock behind his visor.

"A-At once! Goodbye Lady Nepgear!" He bowed and ran out.

"G-Goodbye." Nepgear said, unable to stifle her fear for her friends' fates. The entire complex…

* * *

'Hmm, tiny humans started panic.' Heavy noted, looking outside of the window. He just respawned and found out that the teleporter to the warehouses was destroyed just as he was to take it, the incident followed by a huge explosion which was heard even inside the Resupply Room. The Russian put 2 and 2 together and deduced what happened.

The Russian isn't actually stupid like others like to claim, his English is just bad. He actually has a PhD in Russian literature that he's very proud of, and he likes to read or sing in his native language outside or inside battle.

Deciding it's better to sit and wait for his teammates to come back, he sat back on the chair and observed the life of Planeptune.

The explosion had sent the populace into hysteria, but eventually the panic wore off and most of the people went back to their usual life, with a handful of them going in the warehouse's direction to investigate. All of them were uniquely clothed and armed in melee or ranged weapons so Heavy assumed they're some sort of peace keeping force. Or the ASIC, but Heavy didn't spot anyone with ASIC badges anywhere near the hotel.

The sudden murmurs and sound of people walking up the stairs caused Heavy to shift his attention elsewhere, his head snapped in the direction of his freshly respawned team. "What happen?"

"Dat bloody tin can blew himself!" Demoman threw his hands up into the air. "We 'ere firin' at that Judge like hell, and then." He paused. "Boom goes 'the bomb! Even worse than that bloody wizard with 'is Bombinomicon!" Demo shook his head.

"Anyway." Engineer took the group's attention. "Since the Judge done killed 'imself, doesn' that mean we won?" Engie reasoned. "Now I ain't no expert on giant thinkin' robots like that, but I don' think anything could survive exploding like that. Which means…" The Texan trailed off. The mercenaries looked at each other, tense seconds felt like centuries… Then…

"…Y'know what that means! Do-si-do time! Let's go!"

Scout suddenly began dancing on the spot, waiting for someone to join him for a Square Dance.

…This caused a domino effect and soon everyone began dancing…

When Histoire and Nepgear arrived at the Hotel and walked down the stairs, their jaws dropped upon seeing 9 bloodthirsty mercenaries and their friends, cheering and partying as if nothing wrong had happened.

Engie threw Spy into the air, "Up yah go!", and the Frenchie flipped in the air and spun around with style. "I make it look easy!" IF and Scout were continuing the Square Dance, spinning each other around; IF was a horrible dancer and the girls could see that, but also that she's having fun. Compa was doing the same dance with the Pyro and she was even worse than IF, but she was also having even more fun than her. What really concerned Histoire was the fact when they stopped right before Pyro bowed, it threw some flames into the air out of nowhere. Heavy, Medic and Demoman were dancing the Russian 'Kazotsky Kick', which very much intrigued Nepgear. Sniper stood on the table and played the saxophone, surprising the girls with his musical talent. Soldier was also on the table lying on the opposite side, juggling grenades and rockets in the air and horrifying the Oracle.

"Compa! IF!" Nepgear latched onto Compa, crushing her with a big bear-hug. The Nurse-In-Training smiled and wrapped her arms around the Candidate as well, before pulling in the Guild Agent too for a group hug and causing the mercenaries to 'd'aww'.

"Heya Gear! We kicked his ass!" the brunette grinned, breaking the hug.

"Mhm, we saw!" The lilac-haired girl vigorously nodded, filled with cheer from seeing her friends alive and well.

"Indeed, that was an amazing effort you put forth out there. That was really a hard battle though, we knew CFW Judge was powerful but he was even worse than our reports said." Histoire commented, earning a "Pfft, easy peasy lemon squeeze! We died only twice!" from the Bostonian, his tone so casual it's like dying twice was an everyday thing.

"Heh, and Compa and I only once. It was pretty shocking though." IF said, holding herself and having flashbacks of it. "It was so sudden…" That reaction worried Histoire, and the oracle hoped it won't turn into some form of PTSD. "I still feel pretty numb." She continued, and Engineer's gloved hand rested on her shoulder.

"First death is like that, girl. You'll get used to it."

'Get used to dying all the time… right.' The Guild Agent couldn't help but feel sarcastic about it.

"Anyway, Madame Histoire. What actually happened at the warehouses?" Spy's eyebrow rose as he addressed the fairy.

"I haven't received a full report yet, but the explosion destroyed the entire complex. I think you know the cause even better than we do, but several Guild Members were sent to investigate." Histoire explained, just as IF's eyes widened and her hand went to her phone.

"Crap. Guild's calling, gotta go. Bye Gear, Compa!" Guild Member ran out of the doors. "Bye!" Compa waved a goodbye.

"Attention!" Soldier suddenly yelled, jumping off the table. "Ladies! Men! We're going to rest today! Tomorrow 7am sharp we commence the second phase of our plan! Dismissed!" Soldier saluted and walked up the stairs to take a nap.

"Before we go, Madame Histoire." Spy's words took Soldier's and Oracle's attention. She raised her eyebrow in confusion.

"Yes? Mister Spy?"

"Our payment, if you would be so kind."

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Felony Judgment**

* * *

Fun Fact: I actually had that chapter ready for nearly 2 weeks. I just had to wait for MB to finish his finals so he can edit, so I had to wait but I think it was worth it.

I pray to god that you enjoyed it and I didn't made it anti-climatic. I really wanted this fight to be a good one while also make Mercs appear as cunning individuals capable of taking down any challenge.

On the side note. I ask you to see my Danganronpa / Fairy Fencer F crossover named "Advent of Future Force". Yes a shameless advertisement but FFF is such an underrated game, especially the Remake which I will base the fic. There are only 2 chapters for now, but after I write a next one for this fic, I'm gonna write next for AFF.

Responds:

HuntyPlay – No promises I won't abandon it, but for now I have some ideas to do so I think I will be able to write couple more chapters.

Piggyslayer1235 – No idea. To be honest writing something on planned amount of chapters is really tricky because if I for example plan to finish this in 30 chapters. I will soon find myself writhing 60th chapter…

BreadNotDead – The day I see a fanart for one of my fics is the day I can die happily. IF didn't have any kills because she was just registered into respawn. And during the time between her getting the nano-machines and registering she didn't kill anyone.

Lady Vroom Vroom – I bullshited them!


	11. Ceasefire Break

**Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Ceasefire Break**

* * *

Linda casually strolled down the pavement to the western entrance of Planeptune with her partner, Pirachu, a cartoonish gray mouse the size of a human child with two white whiskers on each cheek and big red eyes, plus two small red-purple demon wings and a rat-like tail with a big black heart on the end and a zig-zag split in the center. On his chest is the ASIC logo, the red and yellow broken heart symbol.

The green-haired elf released an exhausted sigh. "Damn… CFW Judge is a real slave driver."

The rodent simply shook his head. "At least we're lucky that it wasn't us who got beat up by that redhead adventurer. Those guys will probably never recover, chu."

"And I heard they even released her for that! Frickin' Planeptune. Entire country going to the dogs!" Linda spread her arms wide for emphasis. "Hardworking people being called criminals, meanwhile some dumb chick attacks them without reason and even gets set free by the Oracle herself!" The ASIC Underling complained.

"You do remember we did that first part, right? Framing those guys so they'd get hit instead of our own guys?" Pirachu commented, and the elf glared at him.

"Whatever, let's just say hi to Maxie and get our cash from CFW Judge."

"You're still friends with that sadist?" The mouse raised an eyebrow.

"Well duh! We've been friends since middle school- Hey do you hear gunshots and explosions?"

"Sounds like she's busy." Pirachu nodded.

The duo continued forward cautiously. The sounds of gunfire and explosions intensified with each step, and Linda had that lingering feeling that something's wrong. Eventually she had enough and took her pipe she had attached to her back.

"What are you doing, chu?" Pirachu asked, noticing the look on Linda's face.

"I don't like this, Maxie-" A sudden explosion knocked both of them onto the ground in addition to knocking the air out of Linda's lungs.

"What was that, chu?!" The rodent screeched, alarmed.

"An explosion, duh…" Linda's sarcastic answer died down in her throat as she got up, ruby red eyes wide from shock when she saw the aftermath.

Where the warehouse complex once stood, all that remained was a charred, pitch-black crater, not even a trace of lingering fire to be seen there. The pit was slowly filling itself with water from the river nearby, the water quickly burying what may have remained of the complex. That wasn't the end of it however, as the air was full of shrapnel of various shapes and sizes, from smaller than bullets to bigger than people, some still burning as they fell from the sky like meteors straight out of the Apocalypse. Some even landed near Linda and Pirachu, embedding themselves in the grass or pavement, igniting the grass nearby or extinguishing themselves after getting stuck in the footpath.

"It looks like someone nuked the place, chu…" Pirachu nervously commented, a bead of sweat sliding across his face. Linda however kept staring where the warehouses once stood, her mind unable to process the information that it was her friend's station that she's looking at. Maxie could've been caught in that explosion. Her best friend could be _dead_. Without thinking the elf took one small step forward, and her partner instantly figured out what she's trying to do. "Don't do it, chu." He stood in front of her, his arms spread to the sides as if he could do something to stop her.

Instead all he managed to do was antagonize her. "Tch." The ASIC Underling ignored the rodent and sprinted past towards the disaster. "Hmph, not my fault if you get hit by the shrapnel." Pirachu jogged behind her, keeping his eyes above in case some of the fragments flew towards them.

The Elf managed to sprint for about 10 seconds before something slammed down in front of her. The green-haired underling was unharmed and jumped back, getting into a battle stance out of instinct. The distraction was all Pirachu needed to catch up with his partner. "I told you not to run off! You'll just get yourself killed if you do, chu!" The mouse scolded, but the elf ignored him entirely, thoroughly occupied by the fallen fragment in front of her that felt familiar.

The realization hit instantly when said thing began to laugh hysterically.

"AhahahahahahahHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Yes! YES! I sent them all to hell! Ahahahaha!" CFW Judge continued to laugh. What was once the toughest of the CFWs was now nothing more than a steaming severed head, his armor slowly melting and outright missing in some places; the eyes were completely destroyed, as were the ears, but his thinking processor, memory and vocal system were intact and functional.

"CFW Judge!? Sir!?" Both members of ASIC yelled in surprise, their eyes wide and darting between their partner and their severely 'injured' boss.

The hysterical laugh of the machine continued as both of the ASIC grunts tried to figure out how to get their leader out of the crater, a task proving to be difficult due to the steaming hot armor. They could figure out what happened to reduce the mighty Judge to just a head later, the important thing was getting out of there with him before the busybodies of the Guild arrived…

* * *

After Histoire (albeit reluctantly) paid the mercenaries for assassinating CFW Judge (with all taxes already paid), the mercs had earned a grand 180'000 credits to split amongst themselves, getting 20'000 for each merc, in cash since they didn't have a bank account. Add the cash they looted from the ASIC grunts in the warehouse and each merc had over 22'000 credits to their name.

Scout and Demoman decided to celebrate this with a drink, but since the Scotsman's own stash was getting dry, they decided to find a good pub in Planeptune to refill it. Maybe even woo some hot chicks in the process (mostly Scout's idea).

"Drink! Drink! Drink!" The crowd cheered as the Demoman finished his 12th bottle of liquor, while his opponent, a tall adventurer with short crimson hair with a headband and orange eyes also finished her twelfth. Demoman recognized her, she was the one who Spy asked for directions while disguised upon their first arrival.

On the center of the table lay a stack of money, whoever stays standing longer takes it all, and the competition quickly gathered a large audience until soon the entire bar were watching the two competitors trying to outdrink each other.

A blush was clearly visible on the girl's fair-skinned face, the hiccups also present; everyone could see that she's heavily drunk and it won't be long before Demoman wins, especially when her opponent was still more or less fine, at most a little dizzy from the alcohol.

"Aye! Bartender! Another one!" Demo yelled, earning a "Woooo!" from the moderately-drunken crown.

"Looks like your friend's winning." Scout's female companion commented. The bartender simply shook his head with a smirk and prepared another whisky.

A tan-skinned girl with brilliant emerald green eyes and blonde, spiky hair adorned with a white and black themed hat, gold goggles with green lenses, and pointed canine ears, she has white tribal-like body markings and a black and white canine tail. And a fair sized bust.

The girl, who introduced herself to Scout as Cyberconnect2 (Scout figured it's a nickname or codename. There's no way that's her real name, no one uses numbers in their names anymore), wore a white vest with green detailing and three straps over the chest, and also a big, loose collar. She also has white loose gloves with green detailing and gold bracelets, slightly puffed white shorts with an orange and gold belt with CC2 on it, and attached to said belt were two white and green sheaths with dagger handles sticking out of them. Her boots were also white and green. She has black, tight pieces of clothing under her gloves, vest, and shorts.

Cyberconnect2 drank the drink Scout treated her, while the Bostonian took his time to look at his teammate. "The Cyclops? Yeah he's like that, no matter what he drinks he won' pass out. Anywa', those ears and tail real? They're so fluffy and you look great with 'em." The merc remarked flirtatiously, earning a small grin on CC2's face.

"D'aww, that's sweet~ But they're fake, see?" She raised her hat, and Scout saw only gold blonde hair on top of her head. 'Phew, for a minute there I thought I was tryin' to woo some weird half-dog chick. Not that that's necessarily bad, she's still hot.' Scout thought with a hint of relief.

"Hey, did you hear the news?" Cyberconnect2 suddenly asked, hints of intrigue plastered on her face.

"What news?" Scout frowned in confusion.

"Apparently someone blew up the entire warehouse complex to the west of Planeptune." She said in a low voice.

Just then the sudden loud applause made Scout and CC2 look over their shoulders to see Demoman doing a little victory dance over the unconscious body of the redhead adventurer, all while the crowd cheered and applauded before returning to their own business while the security carried the adventurer outside.

The Scottish cyclops sat down next to Scout with a small laugh, slamming the cash onto the bar. The bartender, smirking knowingly, handed the Demo the receipt, making his single eye widen upon seeing the numbers. The barman proceeded to take three quarters of the mercenary's winnings, much to his dismay.

CC2 giggled when Demoman simply slammed his forehead onto the table. "Seems like the house won afterall." Scout grinned at the girl's comment while Demo mumbled some unintelligible things.

"...yer arses arse and I'm the grass man, punk yeah ya havin' heathen."

"C'mon Demo. Buck it up!" Scout lightly punched the drunk man in the shoulder to no effect.

"Any one of you… Everyone, damn it..." Demo sobbed, muttering more unintelligible things before giving out snore-like sounds. Scout and CC2 shared a look before the Bostonian shrugged and drank his own share.

"You just gonna leave him like that?" Cyberconnect2 asked with concern, but the young man just shrugged.

"Yeah, he may look like it, but he ain't really sleepin'. Here, watch this." To demonstrate, Scout reached out to steal some money from the remains of Demoman's stash. He knew what would happen, but was still just a little too slow.

"NO!" The previously snoring Demo suddenly grabbed his hand and immediately broke his fingers, all of them. "Ya bloody pint-sized mutt!" The drunk man added insult to injury as Scout yelped and yanked his hand back before going back to 'sleep'.

Scout chuckled painfully, wincing and holding his left hand. All 5 fingers broken in just a second. "Anywa'." He shrugged it off and tried to act all mighty and strong, despite the tears building in his eyes from sheer pain. "The news about the warehouse? Yeah I know that." He admitted.

"Uhh, I don't think you should move that hand right now…" CC2 pointed at his fingers with increasing concern, but the Bostonian just forced out a laugh again. "Eh that's nothin'." It hurt like hell. "I know a guy who can fix this in a sec anyway. So, it's getting late, huh? How 'bout I walk you home?" He offered, but CC2 simply shook her head at the offer.

"I appreciate the gesture, but I'm taking a taxi and going back to Leanbox after this."

'Leanbox? The hell is that?' Scout frowned. "So what's the problem? I can just ride with you to that Leanbox." He joked, and the blonde-haired girl giggled.

"I don't think they'll let you in, Leanbox is pretty strict when it comes to traffic from other countries, but because I'm a Leanbox civilian I can go out and in whenever I want."

"Oh…" Scout's heart sank. 'Leanbox, that a whole other country here?' "S-So you're going then?" The mercenary asked nervously, and to his disappointment she nodded.

"Mhm. But it was fun, thanks for the night! I come around here pretty often too, maybe we can go out for another drink sometime?" She smiled.

"Yeah sure." His depressed mind doubted that will ever happen. Like with all the other girls.

And with that, CC2 finished her drink and thanked Scout for the treat, leaving him alone with the drunk Scottish cyclops while she took a taxi to the nearest train station, not leaving him any contact info. Scout will never know if this was because she simply forgot, or if it was out of cruelty.

* * *

3 Basilicom Staff members escorted the shackled Maxie through the Basilicom hallways, towards a secluded room used for interrogations. They let Maxie wear her usual outfit, but both mercenaries and the Basilicom Staff searched them thoroughly for anything that would aid her in escape. In addition she's wearing handcuffs on her wrists and shackles on ankles so she couldn't move her arms very much nor run. The strong robotic limbs were useless against the specially designed restrictions.

The floor they're in is one of the least visited by the CPUs, Nepgear and Neptune didn't like the purpose of that floor, nor Histoire, but the latter understood the potential necessity of such a room.

The interrogation room is basically empty room with two chairs and an empty table, illuminated by the fluorescent lamp on the ceiling. The doors are durable enough to break only under CPU, CFW or Saxton Hale's assault, and you can open them only from outside.

The Basilicom Staff opened the sturdy doors and strapped Maxie to one of the chairs and left.

Maxie waited for her interrogator, staring at the wall while having flashbacks to that horrible, horrible moment when she woke up with her stomach cut open and her organs scrambled. She can still feel and see her heart beating against her stomach, and it's impossible for her to have children now because her freakin' womb is where the heart is supposed to be. How is she even still alive?

After several more minutes the doors opened. The ASIC lieutenant's eyes focused on…

Maxie…?

An exact copy of Maxie entered the room, carrying a vanilla folder with various documents. The real Maxie's eyes widened in confusion and surprise. "Who the heck are you!?" She rudely asked, and the fake Maxie smirked smugly and answered "You." with perfect voice imitation. "Yeah sure." The real Maxie rolled her eyes. "Look, I dunno why Histoire's hiring my body-double," She actually had a couple ideas, but she sure as hell won't voice them. "but whatever the reason is, it won't work when CFW Judge is breathing down my neck. Get lost." The smugness on fake Maxie intensified. "Yeah, how about you and wipe that smug grin off yer face now!" Real Maxie barked, irritated.

"You're in no position for demands, ya know?"

"Screw you. I'm not talking."

"Well, all I need are the locations of ASIC's bases here in Planeptune and nearby." The fake Maxie sat down on a chair opposite to Maxie and pulled out 2 maps, one of Planeptune city, and another one showing the entire nation.

"Are you deaf or some crap? I'm not talking!" Real Maxie spat on her fake's face. The fake Maxie said nothing while she wiped off the spit, while the Maxie let out a triumphant 'Ha ha!'

"Ugh, disgusting." Spy had enough and dropped the disguise with a puff of smoke.

Maxie instantly recognized him. "…You're one of those bastards who killed my buds!" She snarled, entering her 'Punishment Mode' and trying to break the cuffs holding her. Not only did they not budge at all, but electricity suddenly coursed through her entire body, making her stop whatever she was doing as her entire body started violently convulsing.

"Yes, and we did the same to your CFW Judge." The masked man claimed. When the electricity stopped coursing, Maxie started to laugh, and laugh, and laugh some more. Soon her amusement reached hysterical levels, there were literal tears in her eyes from how hard she was laughing, and it took her a few minutes to calm herself down, during which Spy impatiently waited.

"~Ahhh, that's a good one. I barely remember the last time some broad amused me like that."

Spy shrugged, not feeling like wasting time arguing over irrelevant details. "Anyway, whether you believe me on that or not, I'm certain you remember what happened with your buddies." The amusement was quickly erased from Maxie's face, replaced by raw anger.

"Oh yeah I remember, you goddamn sicko! You're all some sort of crazy psychos for doing that to other people!" She snapped at him, voice rising with each word.

"And I'm sure the Guild is now finding the charred remains of most of your friends." The Frenchie smiled devilishly.

In the Virtua Forest, several Guild members, IF included, examined in horror the pieces of who were once the ASIC members. A few of them thought the explosion was responsible, a few smarter ones pointed out the pieces were too cleanly cut for it to be the explosion, but only IF knew the identity of the true culprit behind this human bonfire.

"The moment I'm free, I'm going to kill you." The raven-haired ASIC lieutenant hissed in a low, dangerous voice. "I'm going to rip off that stupid mask of yours and shove it up your ass."

"You know, we didn't actually kill everyone, some of them are quite alive." Spy bluffed, but Maxie didn't catch on to it, her sapphire blue eyes looking at Spy in surprise.

"What?" She asked cautiously, know where this was going, and she didn't like it one bit.

Instead of answering verbally, Spy knocked three times against the metal doors. They opened, and a handcuffed Sniper disguised as one of the ASIC grunts was shoved into the room, Basilicom Staff following and strapping him to the other chair in the room.

Maxie's eyes sparked with recognition. "Matt?! The heck they did to you?!" She exclaimed with genuine sorrow, taking note of the injuries she saw on her 'friend'. Bruised face, cuts across his body, severed tongue and obvious burn marks across his neck and shoulders.

The person Maxie sees as Matt only looked at her, grunting something. "Matt cannot talk. Seems like our Docteur had too much fun with him." Spy explained, savoring the anger rising on her face.

"You sick bastards!" She again activated her 'Punishment Mode' and tried to break the ties restricting her, but it only earned her another electric shock. After a minute of torture she was left gasping for breath while Spy chuckled.

"Here's the deal." Spy pulled out the Enforcer, a snub-nosed revolver with a pearl grip. "If you give us the locations of the ASIC bases, I'll make sure no more harm will come to him." Spy pointed the Enforcer at 'Matt', who looked at him pleadingly. "Or." The Spook cocked the hammer and pointed it at his kneecap, "I'm going to blow his kneecap open and make him go back to our Docteur for more experiments. And I'm sure you remember what surprise he gave you when you woke up." He referenced when Medic scrambled her organs. 'Matt' gulped and looked at his leader pitifully. Never before had Maxie felt pity for others, but looking at one of her best buddies and knowing what these freaks were capable of, she couldn't help but feel it.

After a long time of consideration, just when Spy was about to pull the trigger-

"Alright. You win." She sighed. "Just. Let's get this over with."

Spy nodded and ordered the Basilicom Staff to drag RED Sniper out of the room. Just as the professional assassin was shoved, his and his teammate's eyes met. One simple sentence traveled through the simple glance.

 _'Too! Bloody! Easy!'_

After that Maxie told him everything. All the details she knew about the locations and their purpose was squeezed out by the mercenary, who circled the leaked locations with a pen and started mentally planning the assaults.

Maxie didn't feel bad for doing this. She never cared about the ASIC as a whole, especially when her superior had such a superiority complex. The only things she cared about were her pay and the small circle of comrades she worked with. But there was that nagging voice telling her something was weird, and she just couldn't figure out what.

Later, back in prison, she saw the news of the huge explosion in the warehouses, along with the discovered charred and in pieces bodies. The Guild only managed to identify one of them due to the burnt ASIC badge ID code on it. The Lieutenant recognized it immediately.

 _Matt White._

* * *

"Engineer, do you-wah!" Histoire ducked just in time to avoid a sudden smack with the wrench. The fairy oracle stared at the Texan mercenary with shock and horror in her wide eyes, while the wrench wielder, upon realizing that it was his employer and not some BLU mother hubbard in a balaclava, awkwardly brought the tool down. "Sorry ma'am, habits." Engie smiled sheepishly.

"Was your previous employment so dangerous that you needed to develop a habit of attacking every person who shows up behind you?" Histoire asked, genuinely wondering and fearing what could force him into learning such habits. The Texan's answer was quick, straightforward, and expectedly frightening. "Yup. Anyway, how can I help, ma'am?"

'Considering the amount of times he died… It would actually be more surprising if he didn't attack anyone who sneaks up on him.' Making mental notes about announcing her presence from a safe distance to mercenaries, the fairy rubbed her cheek with her index finger. "You can simply call me Histoire, Engineer, and I'm looking for your Medic, is he around?" Histoire looked around the reception of the Hotel she wrote off to the mercenaries, noticing that its quite tidy. She actually expected to see a big mess here, but the mercs were actually not nearly as slobbish as she thought. Only the disabled level three sentry gun right behind the reception disturbed the living tome; she's seen it before through the N-Gear and Spectator software, but actually seeing such a construct of two Gatling guns with a multi-rocket launcher on top in her vicinity, she must say it's no less intimidating.

The Texan pointed his index finger at the ceiling. "The Doc should be in the medical bay, teachin' Compa about the Medi-Guns and such, first room to the left." Histoire silently clicked her tongue, she did have a question to ask him but she didn't want to disturb the lesson. Besides it wasn't like it was something important, just a simple thing she noticed and was curious about.

"I see. By the way, can I ask you what you're doing?" She frowned.

Engineer was standing next to a medium-sized wooden crate, big enough to fit Sasha and still have enough room to squeeze Histoire with her book into it. The crate was wrapped in thick metal chains with a sturdy-looking padlock locking it in place. Attached to the chain was a tag which read:

 **Mann Co. Special Surprise Crate**

 **Crate Series: #?**

 **You need a Mann Co. Surprise Crate Key to open this.**

 **You can pick one up at the Mann Co. Store.**

 **This crate contains one of the following items.**

 **?**

 **?**

 **?**

 **Or an Exceedingly Rare Special Item!**

"Me and the boys found these weird crates in our supplies disguised as normal supply crates. None of our keys are workin' so I'm trying to bust the lock. But. It's. Solid." The blond fairy watched the mercenary struggling with cutters to cut the padlock with the bolt. Eventually the padlock won and Engie was left panting.

"Wouldn't it be better to simply shoot the lock off?" Histoire suggested, a frown appearing on her face. They have tons of guns here, why not use that? Engie however simply shook his head. "Tried, the lock survived an entire clip." The frown on Histoire's face intensified. 'Just what's in there that'd require such a resistant lock?' "Why don't we just simply remove the boards from the crate?" She suggested. Engie after some consideration shook his head. "Nah, we did that once. Not worth it." Histoire briefly considered asking 'why', but knowing how ridiculous but effective Mann Co.'s goods are, she bet they didn't overlook such grave detail. There could even be some sort of security measure to prevent exactly that, though what it could be she wasn't sure. "May I see it?" The fairy glanced at the mercenary, who simply shrugged. He ran outta ideas so he might as well give someone else a chance.

"Go ahead."

With the Engineer's consent, the fairy's small adorable hand took the padlock, and her dull blue eyes examined the sturdy obstacle. 'He really tried to shoot the padlock.' She noticed several depressions on the metal structure. No matter how sturdy the metal though… The Oracle channeled her powerful Mana into her hand.

And she froze the lock solid in an instant.

Then she effortlessly crushed the frozen padlock in her palm. The motion made Histoire look and feel like some sort of cliché evil mastermind. A small, adorable evil mastermind.

The hardhatted Engineer whistled, looking very impressed by the display. "Well I'll be damned, Histoire. I've been strugglin' with that lock for 30 damn minutes, and all I needed to do was freeze it?" He shook his head with a smirk, feeling dumb for not figuring that out sooner.

"I am a tome of knowledge afterall, it's only logical I know a few tricks. Now then, shall we check the contents?" She let the Engineer do the honors of moving the chains out of the way and opening the crate's lid. Both of them grew confused upon seeing what's within though; Histoire because she has no idea what it was, and Engie because of how it ended up there…

The crate was nearly entirely filled with hay, lying upon which were two leather canteens with a small metal plate screwed on one side of each and two leather belts holding it together as well. Between the plates and canteens were letters squeezed in between.

"Canteens? A rather strange item to dedicate an entire crate for just the two of them, much less such security." Histoire took one of said items and read the letter attached to it.

 _Here at Mann Co., we take care of our employees. After you've completed your first task we ordered you to do, you will get, free of charge, one Mann Co.-brand canteen. It's filled to the damn brim with life-giving air. If air's not your thing, these canteens can also be filled with a variety of power-ups at an Upgrade Station._

— _Saxton Hale_

Following it were instructions on how to use it. Apparently you need to choose from five types of power ups and how many of them you want; you can fill the canteen with only one power up type, but up to 3 charges of it. Then, if you're connected to the Re:Spawn system, all you need to do is think _'Power up!_ ' two times, but there's also a button hidden between the layers of leather to activate the buff if the user doesn't have any bionic upgrades.

Histoire opened a canteen's lid and found it really filled with nothing but air. Stale air but still air… 'A seemingly free-of-charge canteen inside a crate which needs to be opened with a special key, which according to the tag requires purchase from Mann Co.'s own store. What a deal, I can see why your employees are so loyal, Mr. Hale!' Histoire thought sarcastically as she examined the flask.

"So that's where our Power Up Canteens went…" Engie muttered, examining his own one. "We lost 'em after robots attacked the Mannworks base. We 'ere searchin' high and low for 'em but we never did find 'em." Engie retold. Histoire briefly wondered what he meant by 'robot attack', but then she remembered what they were doing before coming to this world.

"If I understand the manual correctly. You can fill them with various… power ups, and then use them when the time calls. Right?" Histoire folded the letter and put it back in. 'I would ask for an explanation on how that'd work… but I've seen how strange and crazy Mann Co.'s products are, so I'm sure I won't really understand it. Like mixtures of technology and magic, so ancient-looking yet so advanced at the same time… It's hard for even me to comprehend them.'

"Bullseye, Histoire! I lost count on how many times this little thing saved our bacon during a siege. Doc's a real master of them, his medigun can make the buffs last longer and share 'em too." He extended his hand to Histoire, who handed the Canteen back and said her goodbyes before going back to the Basilicom. She'll speak with Medic some other time.

* * *

After an entire day of investigating and traumatizing discovery, IF was glad that the day was finally over, along with her shift. She's also lucky that she wasn't actually last to arrive or her superior would chew her ear off.

The Guild agent walked along the pavement, staring at her phone and texting with some of her friends. She would text Compa but she said she's going to Medic's lessons and will keep her phone off, so she's out. Otome-chan said she's going to the gym, and Mate-chan is busy doing some Guild quests.

That leaves her with Neverlan-chan, and both Guild members began texting each other random gibberish or her asking why she was away for a few days. After a few dozen minutes of texting and giggling later, IF receives a sudden text from Otome-chan.

Otome: _"holy crap IF"_

Me _: "what happened Otome?"_

Otome: _"im at the gym r/n and there's this… HUUUUUGE guy, lifting 150kg at once. WITH ONE HAND!"_

Me: _"._."_

Otome: _"lol now one of the girls decided to join him XD"_

Otome: _"hold on lemme upload video"_

The video IF's friend uploaded showed Heavy wearing the 'Weight Room Warmer' (a red hoodie) and 'Toss-Proof Towel' (exactly what it sounds like) over his shoulders, lifting a barbell with 3 weights of 25 kilograms, on each side, with one hand.

Next to him was a girl with deep blue eyes and matching hair that appears to be very long, but is worn up with a few long loose curls. She has a pair of black goggles worn over her hair, like a headband, and wearing a black body suit with the zipper worn below her belly button and bandaging worn around her chest. It has thin red and blue lines on the side and is worn with big cuffed, gray gloves and matching boots.

Her slim figure did not match her strength, since she's able to keep up with Heavy and also lift similar weight, even though she needs both hands for it. Several other girls and guys were gazing in wonder at these two while doing their own work-out. Only two others besides Otome pulled out their phones and started recording.

Otome: _"im gonna upload this to neppit IF im lucky I'll get lots of nepu points. Muhahaha :)"_

Me: _"Did you just pun my name?"_

Otome: _"did u just assume my pun? :o"_

Me: _"Did you just assume my assumption?"_

Otome: _"Did u just assume?:)"_

The silliness of this conversation is just what IF needed to brighten her day. After the Gamindustri Graveyard, Soldier's inhuman training, the operation, CFW Judge and her first death. IF suddenly felt cold when thinking about that. The endless darkness with only letters "Respawning in…" as the only beacon in the sea of darkness.

The Guild agent shook her head to stop these thoughts and continued the text conversation with Otome. A few years ago such carefreeness was common to IF, but now with ASIC running around slowly destroying Planeptune and the rest of the world, such moments largely devoid of worry were few and far between. Hell by this point she MISSES Neptune and her insanity.

Damn these thoughts made IF feels old.

"Waaaaaaaah!"

The sudden shriek that filled the air was enough to force IF to shift her attention away from her phone. The brunette immediately recognized the owner of said voice as her blonde ditzy nurse-in-training best friend. Her emerald eyes searched the general area of where her voice came from. When she saw them, her eyes widened. They were up above, Compa and Soldier, falling-

Right onto her.

There wasn't even a chance to scream as the blond nurse slammed herself onto the brunette, sending her straight to the ground and knocking the air out of her lungs. Several bystanders stopped to watch in confusion as the busty blonde got off the not-so-busty brunette, all while Soldier, who Compa was healing, stood on the side and laughed. "Hit and sunk, maggot. Perfect landing, private!" The crazed American patriot chuckled as he extended his hand to IF, who after a few seconds of staring blankly at him took it and got raised to her feet. The war hero then patted her shoulder for good measure.

"Ooh my head…" IF moaned, clutching her head in pain. The onlookers were too confused by the fact that the girl wasn't dead from being crashed head-on by something flying at such high velocity, much less still conscious.

"Sorry Iffy. Soldier was teaching me how to… um…" Compa tried to find the right word as she inhaled the Quick Fix's beam. "Strafe." Soldier reminded her, causing the nurse to snap her fingers in realization. "Yes! Strafe." With all her wounds and fractures healed, Compa pointed the Quick Fix at the other girl. Bystanders were even more shocked when they noticed the forming bruise on Compa's chin had disappeared instantly. "It's your turn~" Compa sang cheerfully while healing IF, the fractured skull and ribs gluing back together quickly.

IF gave her best friend a grateful look when the Quick Fix started pumping IF with pleasurable overheal. "Better?" The nurse-in-training smiled, and the Guild agent smiled in return. "Better."

"Now with that outta the way, private. Let's continue." Soldier cut in, the Rocket Jumper held proudly in his two hands, the patriot nodded to Compa who nodded back and started focusing the Quick Fix's beam onto him.

"Bye, Iffy! I'm gonna flyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy~" IF watched Soldier starting to rocket jump through the busy streets of Planeptune, and for some reason Compa was also launched into the air not far behind the Soldier, only much higher due to lighter weight. While she did look frightened, she also sure looked excited and was having a ton of fun. W-Wait, they're rocket-jumping on the streets- No road damage? A quick look confirmed the rockets had left absolutely no trace of damage on what they hit, besides some small dust clouds. Huh, okay then.

The brunette watched the creamy and red blur flying away. As people started to gossip all around her with some of them trying to catch up with the flying duo, a small smile crept across IF's face. She shoved one hand into her coat's pocket, and the other resumed texting Otome.

Maybe, just maybe, those days will come back someday.

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Ceasefire Break**

* * *

Hello ladies and gentlemann, it's Smissmass time so here's a chapter about mercenaries interacting with other characters, and getting some new toys because why not? And there will be some more toys with it.

On the side note I seriously want someone to draw the beginning where Linda and Pirachu are standing over destroyed warehouse complex, with fragments of it still falling onto the ground. Also HOLYCRAPJUDGEISSTILLALIVE!? Yes he is, did you seriously think I'll just kill one of main villains THAT easily? Nah he'll come back, not very soon but he'll.

Also I think I'll need to do a huge time-jump soon or this fic will soon go over 100 chapters and I don't think I have a time or patience for it.

Responses:

\- HuntyPlay

Thanks for the kind words, but could you write something more constructive?

\- Lady Vroom Vroom

I'm glad you liked it, I didn't want this to be such a major buzzkill so if you liked it, I accomplished my goal.

\- BreadNotDead

Well Iffy will got slight PTSD from it, but not very much since it was instantaneous death. If she died like, pretty fuckin' horribly then she wouldn't leave the spawn room for decades. And about the FFF, yeah it needs some love so I'll try my best, but MB have too much things to do to edit that fic so I'll be on my own there.

\- Harmless Orange


	12. Davids and Goliath

**Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Davids and Goliath**

* * *

The destruction of the warehouse complex shook all of Gamindustri. While it wasn't visible on the streets, a quick look on the Internep forums or NepTube would show countless threads and videos about it. The event was so big that even other nations got interested, and pressed Histoire for information.

So now Planeptune's Oracle hovered on the podium in front of thousands of gamindustrians. In the crowd hid more than a few ASIC grunts as well.

In light of the press conference, rather than take credit themselves, Spy suggested taking advantage of it to reveal the fact that Nepgear was rescued from the ASIC and bluff that it was the Candidate who defeated CFW Judge. The mercs only needed the money afterall, while the Candidate could use the Shares.

"Thank you for coming here today, everyone." Histoire's voice boomed from the loudspeakers. Camera flashes blinded her blue eyes, but they readjusted quickly.

"I'm sure the destruction of the warehouse complex near the western entrance of Planeptune surprised us all." She continued. "The Guild's report has been made public, so if anyone's interested they may read it later."

In addition to complete destruction of the warehouse complex, CFW Judge's self-destruct also managed to damage the city's barrier, letting some monsters into the city until some Guild agents and adventurers dealt with them. The monsters still managed to damage a few buildings and injure civilians, some of them with only minor injuries, others still fighting for their lives in the hospitals…

Shrapnel was raining down for almost ten minutes after the event, the furthest recorded one landing over 2 miles away, conveniently embedding itself in an Ancient Dragon's wing, taking it out of the air and crashing it in deeper parts of the Virtua Forest. Until it's taken out, the area is restricted to only people who've completed at least a C-Rank Guild extermination quest.

In addition, the flaming fragments damaged or destroyed multiple buildings in the outskirts of Planeptune, and the Virtua Forest was hit by them as well. The firefighters couldn't control the fires completely, so they had to sacrifice part of the forest in order to save the rest.

The crater created by the explosion is now entirely filled with water. Histoire's been thinking about building a lakeside resort next to the newly-created lake, using the burnt down ground to place the fundaments, or at the very least make it a nice place to spend time. It will require some work, but the Oracle couldn't leave that place as it is.

"As some of you pointed out on the Internep forums, and yes we're reading them," The fairy admitted, and now some people will spam the forums with threads like 'Hi Histoire! Notice me senpai!' and generally make the moderators' lives harder, "there wasn't anything in the report about the cause of the explosion, and there was actually a reason for this." Histoire briefly saw a red dot in her peripheral vision. It belonged to Sniper's rifle.

Yes, the mercenaries were at the conference as well. Sniper was watching the crowd with Scout watching over him. Medic and Heavy were behind the scenes to protect the Oracle in case of attempted assassination. In addition, Spy was cloaked right in front of the podium so if anyone tries, it will be him who takes the bullet. And finally, Engineer monitors the main entrance.

With them and the usual security, the Oracle actually felt pretty safe despite knowing there's enemy agents among the audience.

The rest of the team continued supporting Nepgear in collecting Shares, just as planned.

Histoire took a deep breath. What she's about to say could be interpreted as an actual declaration of war against the ASIC.

"Everyone. Our CPU Candidate, Lady Nepgear, has returned, and the destruction of the warehouse complex is the aftermath of her and her friends fighting against one of the leaders of the ASIC, CFW Judge."

As expected, the public went crazy. Everyone spoke at once, especially the media who bombarded Histoire with so many questions it was an incoherent mess. For a minute Histoire simply stayed silent, knowing anything she said would just be drowned out, until the uproar calmed down enough for her to regain control.

"I'm sure you all have many questions, and I'd be happy to answer a few of them before moving on. One at a time, please."

One of the reporters immediately put her microphone to the fairy's face. "Lady Histoire, will we be able to see Lady Nepgear after all these years?" She asked. To everyone's disappointment the Oracle shook her tiny head.

"You will, but not immediately I'm afraid. Lady Purple Sister is currently in the Virtua Forrest, hunting down the Ancient Dragon who's rampaging near the city."

* * *

"Clear!" Soldier yelled, both him and his Equalizer covered in the blood of various monsters.

Nepgear, her friends and the assigned mercenaries were searching through the depths of Virtua Forest. The group was let in because of IF's S-Rank status, and the Guild even gave her the Quest to finish off the Ancient Dragon lurking around.

"I also can't see anything else. How about you, Compa?" IF asked, the Guild agent turning around to see the nurse healing Pyro with the Quick Fix. (Which Soldier stole from Medic without him knowing, then bluffed to the girl that he gave him his consent.) The Pyromaniac nodded in appreciation and picked up his Degreaser, a makeshift-looking flamethrower that is comprised of a gas pump, a car muffler, an exhaust pipe, a red fire extinguisher, and a stove top burner.

This and the Beggar's Bazooka, a crude rocket launcher made from pipes, mismatched handles, and a filter held together with bolts, electrical tape, and various straps and belts, plus a funnel attached to the end as a makeshift exhaust port, made IF and Nepgear wonder about the mercenaries' crafting skills. There's no Mann Co. tag on them and they look home-made, so does that mean the mercs are able to craft complicated weapons out of trash and random parts?

"Nope." Came a quick reply from her childhood friend.

"Maybe it's somewhere deeper?" Nepgear suggested. "Actually, what else do we have to do?"

Hearing Nepgear's request and with no threats around, the Guild agent opened her N-Gear and checked the list. "Let's see… a Dogoo extermination." The brunette looked around. "Which is basically done. A Pixelvader extermination and a fetch quest for some Herbs and Fungus Spores."

"The hell's Fugus Spore?" Demoman asked, sheathing his Half-Zatoichi, a samurai's katana.

"Not Fugus, FuNgus, pronounce the N." Compa corrected, a brief wave of irony washed over IF. "It's a material used in alchemy. You could create an Anti-Venom with it." She added.

"Not everyone has access to Medi-Guns or knows healing magic, so some adventurers have to rely on good old-fashioned items." IF gave her two cents.

"Ahh me see." Demo nodded.

After that, the party moved on, but not without some more small talk.

* * *

"Did anyone help Lady Purple Sister fight CFW Judge?" Another reporter asked.

"Our Lady wasn't fighting alone, she was aided by a group of people that will remain anonymous."

'Thank you for giving us some credit, Mademoiselle Histoire.' Spy thought while waving to the crowd despite them not seeing him. The flashes of the camera didn't hinder his eyes at all nor did anything to reveal his position.

The questions kept coming without end. More and more of them came, with Histoire patiently giving more and more answers.

"What about the bodies found in the forest, was this Our Lady's doing?"

"Lady Nepgear did not play a hand in such a gruesome act, I can assure you of this. With the Guild still investigating the murders though I'm still not ready to give an official statement."

"Is there any proof of Lady Nepgear fighting this CFW Judge?"

"The Guild has managed to retrieve several pieces of his armor, along with his broken weapon. Both of their photos are included in the Guild's report.

"What does the Basilicom along with Lady Nepgear plan to do with the rest of ASIC?"

"We plan to stop the ASIC's piracy and distribution of Arfoire chips that has been harming our nation for all these years."

"What about Lady Purple Heart? Did she come back too?"

"Lady Neptune is… still in the Gamindustri Graveyard. But we will rescue her as well as soon as we can. Now that Lady Nepgear has returned, it'll only be a matter of time."

"How will the Planeptune government deal with the crater on the western entrance of the city?"

"We do have a few ideas, but nothing to publish official-"

 ***B-BANG***

…Suddenly two gunshots rang out…

* * *

"Hey, Gear. How's your HDD?" IF slowed down so the CPU Candidate could catch up to her. "I mean, after the lesson Compa's asked for, Doc and Histoire locked you up in the Basilicom for the rest of the day. Did they find something?" The Nurse-in-training perked up upon hearing her name.

"T-There was something." The entire group stopped and looked at the lilac-haired girl, the attention making her quite uneasy. "I-It's nothing major." She began apprehensively. "I-It's just, when I transform, apparently no one can use magic around me, me included."

"Wait? For real?" IF's eyes widened in surprise. Out of curiosity she tried to cast something onto the bush next to her. "Demon Flames!" The Guild agent dramatically spun around, channeling her fiery mana to form the attack.

The bush exploded several times before it was consumed by a pillar of fire. The mercs watched with mild surprise before calming down. The Guild agent stared at Nepgear with her eyebrow raised. "I said when I transform." The CPU Candidate repeated, a drop of sweat running down her face. The brunette blinked, she didn't quite catch that part.

"…Oh."

"We found out when Histoire wanted to check my elemental affinities during HDD, but instead she found she couldn't cast anything at all! Same with my healing or Defensive Cheer." Nepgear explained. The Pyromaniac stared at her blankly.

"Dphmnve mmph?"

"I'm sorry Pyro, but I don't understand what you're saying." The Candidate admitted, tilting her head in confusion. The fire-loving mercenary's shoulders dropped as he mumbled something. It almost looked sad… but then,

"Incoming!" Demoman cried just in time for 3 Pixelvaders to suddenly appear. The creatures resembled 3D versions of the enemies from Space Invaders, with green blocky bodies as if made from pixels. However these 3 were different from the others the team has encountered thus far, with their purple glow and corrupted look.

This did not deter Soldier however, as he quickly pulled out his Cow Mangler 5000, a large, shoulder-fired, retro-futuristic ray gun, several portions of it colored red. Arcs of electricity appear periodically on the frontal nodes. The crazed American pulled the trigger, firing a hot blast of red plasma that hit the monsters mid-air and scattered them. To his surprise they all survived that, unlike their regular counterparts.

"Watch out, these monsters have gone Viral! Now they're a lot stronger and harder to kill, so don't underestimate them!" IF warned, casting her Demonic Flames spell onto one of them. It was launched airborne and headed towards Demoman, who grinned sadistically.

"Pyro!" The Demolition Man swung his katana like the Scout performing a Home Run and hit the Pixelvader head on, sending the viral monster flying towards the firebug.

The Pyromaniac pulled out its Powerjack, an antique automobile jack with a red colored car battery strapped to its base with heavy yellow rubber bands, and with the same motion Pyro sent the monster towards Soldier. "Sholder!" Then the patriot delivered it to Compa with a smack of his pickaxe. "Compa!" Who sent it towards IF, "Iffy!", and the Guild agent reflected it to Nepgear. "Gear!"

The CPU Candidate just barely managed to finish off the monster with an upward slash. "Hiiiyah!"

As the monster flew towards Gamindustri's stratosphere, the invisible audience cheered loudly. The group didn't question it and cheered and laughed as well. Even the remaining Pixelvaders joined them.

Then they remembered the two other monsters and resumed their slaughter.

Back at the press conference, a bored Scout suddenly felt a disturbance in the force. The young mercenary turned his head towards the Virtua Forest (a wall) and stared at it for a few moments. It was a weird feeling, like someone just did an amazing baseball feat without his knowledge.

He shrugged it off and went back to idly playing with his Sandman's baseball, all while Sniper's patience wore thin with him.

* * *

Everyone panicked, the crowd immediately crouched down and held their heads, screaming. While the security separating them tried to keep them away from the stage, Medic and Heavy, the former deploying the Electro-Shield and the latter spinning up his minigun, along with several Basilicom workers flooded the scene and escorted the Oracle behind the scenes.

While the frightened crowd was evacuating, mostly by pushing each other out of the way towards the main entrance, another gunshot rang out. It was from Sniper's sniper rifle. The mercenary chuckled as he reloaded.

Surprised, the Spy looked down; there was a bullet wound in his foot, but the pain was overridden by his surprise. 'What the hell just happened?' The cloaked mercenary looked behind him, no bullet holes nor blood.

Histoire was unharmed at least.

He looked around for a few more seconds, ignoring the horrified and panicked crowd in front of him, until he found a second bullet hole inside one of the chairs. The Frenchie spook tried to predict the trajectory and his eyes landed on Sniper's window. The Australian mercenary seemed to be laughing, but his voice was drowned out by the half-evacuated crowd.

'Crétin…'

Meanwhile Sniper was indeed very amused, after shooting down the assailant (amateur, his rifle poked out of the window.) "Wave goodbye to your head, wanker!" He shouted to his victim, not caring that the would-be assassin wouldn't hear him over the crowd.

"Oi snipes, what's up?" Scout asked, feeling pretty confused by his teammate sudden amusement. Snipes chuckled evilly before responding.

"I just- I just reflected that wanker's bullet!" He tried to catch his breath. The Bostonian was still clueless.

"What?"

"I. Just. Intercepted. A. Bullet. With. My. Bullet. Capiche?" Australian hissed, his left hand pointing at Scout, but he quickly got his amusement back. Sniper howled towards the sun, not caring about the audience watching him.

"I am the king of Australia!"

* * *

"Wot are we searchin' for anyway? There's nothin' but pixels and goo here!" Demoman complained, as if to demonstrate his point another Dogoo jumped at him. The Scottish mercenary effortlessly sliced the slime in two.

"Well, the Guild said there's an injured Ancient Dragon rampaging in this area. You know, just a dragon. Tall as a building, brown scales and fangs big as half a human, also breathes fire." IF described, it was enough for the mercs to get a mental picture of it. "We need to take him out quickly, injured or not, if that thing gets into Planeptune then countless civilians might get injured or even die!" She added with a raised voice.

"So that overgrown lizard is endangering civilians, huh? Mwhehehe!" Soldier chuckled, suddenly rocket jumping onto a tree. The patriot looked around the area for a bit.

'Why haven't we thought of it earlier?' IF killed another Dogoo who tried to attack her. "Hey! Soldier! Do you see something!?" The Guild agent shouted, the rest of the party gathering near her and also waited as one of their powerhouses scouts the area.

Soldier spotted their target, though it was too far for him to see what the beast's doing. The dragon was most definitely big though. "Affirmative!" The Cow Mangling mercenary jumped off the tree and landed in front of Nepgear, spooking her a little but it was no concern for the American. "Half a mile that way!" The loud merc pointed out the way before storming off, his party following him.

* * *

"Photon Blade!" A red-haired adventurer slammed her shining-with-power sword into the ground. The power inside the blade flew towards the beast and cut right into its chest, making the beast flinch but unable to penetrate its thick and hard scales.

The adventurer's blue-haired ally followed up with her own attack. "Justice Kick!" She jumped high with her strong legs and performed a drop kick to the same spot a previous attack struck! The beast fell onto its backside, and the blue-haired girl landed safely next to the adventurer.

The beast they were fighting was an overgrown lizard called an 'Ancient Dragon'. It was an enormous creature with brown scales everywhere beside its belly and chest, where they were creamy-white. 2 pairs of horns grew from its head with a pair of yellowish malevolent eyes focusing on its enemies. It was standing on two legs and his arms could use an entire tree as a club, with his legs being even thicker. The smallest claw was the size of a fully-grown human leg, and its strong tail could knock someone unconscious with one swing.

Usually the Ancient Dragons had a pair of great wings on their back, big and strong enough to carry them at great altitudes, but this individual was lacking the entire right wing, in its place a gaping wound on his back.

The dragon got onto its legs rather quickly. There were signs of damage here and there but the lizard was more or less fine. The same went with its enemies who were just getting fired up.

"Hmph! A persistent monster, but no force of evil can stand long against Gamindustri's heroine of justice, Nisa!" The blue-haired girl introducing herself as Nisa posed heroically. Next to her the red-haired adventurer silently chuckled with amusement.

"Then I, the great adventurer Falcom, shall aid you in defeating this villain!" The adventurer tried to mimic Nisa's speech and accent, earning a chuckle from the heroine.

"C'mon! Let's show that monster the true power of bravery and justice!"

* * *

The Basilicom's doctor was checking the Oracle for injuries, even after Medic's and Histoire's assurances that she's fine. "I knew there'd be enemy agents there, but I never really believed someone would actually try to assassinate me…" She sighed. 'If not for the mercenaries, who knows what would have happened.' "What about the public, did they evacuate safely?" The Oracle asked, her voice filled with concern. To dispel her worries, Spy decloaked, a cigarette in his mouth.

"Last I checked there were no other injuries, and Engineer is confirming that as we speak, you can rest assured. That was quite the show though, I suppose this event will be the talk of the town soon enough." He exhaled some smoke, even though Histoire wasn't even close to the fumes she still coughed as if it was choking her.

"Spy, could you please not smoke near me?" She asked, but the Frenchie simply pointed his index finger as he walked across the room, still smoking.

"Mademoiselle Histoire, I have an illness, remember?"

"Herr Spy, you're simply an addict." Medic (who's talking over the phone) spat.

"Whatever." Spy rolled his eyes. "More importantly, ASIC or not, we can be certain now that someone wants your head. Do you think it safe for you to go out anymore?"

The Oracle very seriously considered the merc's question. 'He may be right, that assassin was solid proof that someone's after me. Even if someone must address the people's worries, perhaps I should stay quiet for a few days.'

The Oracle's train of thoughts was interrupted by Medic handing the phone back to the Basilicom worker. "I have contacted Herr Engineer. All civilians are out and unharmed, in addition zhe-" His eyes noticed something above, and the German's head snapped upward while his hand went towards the Blutsauger, a modified Syringe Gun.

Medic pulled out the weapon and started firing the syringes at the catwalks above the stage. "Above!"

* * *

This fight is going pear-shaped fast.

Nisa and Falcom dodged constant swipes from the creature. Both of them were running out of stamina and it wasn't helping that their supplies were running out as well!

It was going pretty smoothly at first. Nisa and Falcom worked together pretty well, covering each other, following-up each other's attacks and hitting at just the right places to penetrate the dragon's thick armor.

But just as they were about to finish it off, the impossible happened.

A sudden Viral Pixelvader fell from the sky and crashed right into him, shattering one of the horns on its head but making it go Viral as well. The Pixelvader died upon landing, its body shattering into data.

The heroine of justice and adventurer backed away slowly. One of the most dangerous monsters in Gamindustri just received a second wind and a huge buff in power and defense. The girls may be brave and strong, but they're definitely NOT suicidal.

The mighty dragon roared into the sky, the branches on the trees and even a few trees themselves nearby broke down and fell to the ground, blocking their escape routes. Its once brown scales had turned a dark shade of purple, its muscles more tense and visible, the damaged tissue partially regenerated, the gap in its back closed along with numerous other smaller wounds, leaving numerous new scars across its body. The viral Ancient Dragon ripped an entire freakin tree and held it like a club with one hand, its red murderous eyes glaring down at its two foes.

Both of them shared a glance, and gulped at the same time.

There's nowhere to run…

They may not leave this fight alive…

But they sure won't go down without a fight.

The dragon raised its club high into the air before swinging it down at the girls. Both of them were agile enough to dodge the attack, Nisa with a jump and Falcom with a roll. The adventurer retaliated by slashing the dragon's wrist, but the attack did little to the buffed monster. There were flames dripping off the Ancient Dragon's mouth, not a good sign for Falcom…

"Justice Kick!" Nisa kicked the dragon's jaw, tilting it slightly but just enough to throw off its aim. The flames it spewed missed the adventurer, in exchange lighting up the area nearby. The heroine followed up by jumping back and throwing knives at the dragon as she flew; most of the blades were reflected by its corrupted scales, but some managed to embed themselves between its scales, some even opening the once-regenerated scars!

Falcom nodded to Nisa, grateful for the cover, and used one of her skills. "Magic blade, Sorcerian!" The redhead's sword glowed with ice energy as she swung it in the dragon's direction; icicles burst forth from the sword, the ice pelting the monster before exploding into a giant pillar of light.

The dragon staggered back but kept its balance. It swung the tree in a sweeping motion at Falcom, the redhead avoiding it by ducking under the club that passed harmlessly above her. In exchange it hit Nisa instead. "Justice Ki- GAH!"

The keeper of justice attempted another Justice Kick at the lizard's face, but the dragon's club kept going and smacked her out of the sky. The bluenette crashed straight into a pile of wood at the edge of the battlefield. "Nisa!" Falcom shouted alarmingly. The adventurer tried to reach and help her friend-in-arms, but between them stood the Viral Ancient Dragon.

"I-I'm alright!" Nisa clambered out of the pile of wood and sticks. She tried to stand on both legs and nearly immediately fell onto her right knee.

She was definitely not alright…

Her right leg is broken…

And she ran out of healing items…

Even though not even Nep Bull would heal an injury that bad…

The viral monster roared again, completely ignoring the adventurer to finish off the keeper of justice, not even another Photon Blade to its back could shift its attention. It grabbed Nisa (she squealed in pain) with its right hand, a claw around her neck, and squeezed, breaking her wind pipe and preventing her from breathing.

Nisa panicked, her eyes widening as she tried to escape the beast's grasp, but it was futile. The dragon was far stronger physically, and it didn't help that she was starting to get weaker and weaker as she choked on her own blood and her increased heartbeat accelerated her need for oxygen.

Just before Nisa's bones gave way entirely, something crashed and exploded on the dragon's left forearm. The force of the explosion along with the electricity briefly coursing through its hand and paralyzed it and caused the dragon drop the heroine. She landed onto the ground below shoulder-first, painfully dislocating it.

* * *

"CHUUUUUUUUU!" Pirachu yelped, running away for his life on all fours away. The syringes embedded themselves in the catwalks or missed it completely, narrowly missing the mouse. Spy immediately pulled out his revolver and aimed at the catwalks, but he couldn't see anyone on them, nor could the Heavy who jumped in front of the Oracle with his minigun spun up and aimed at the catwalks as well.

There were a few seconds of silence, disturbed only by Heavy's spinning minigun, as everyone looked everywhere in search of the threat. Eventually Histoire decided the area was clear and safe.

"M-Medic?" She began, still white as a sheet as she peeked over the Russian's shoulder. "Was someone up there?" She asked.

Medic's only response was a nod and reloading his vampiric syringe gun (since the Blutsauger heals the user upon successful hits). "Zhere definitely vas someone up on zhe catwalks." The German stated simply.

"It sounded like a mouse, but if it concerned our Docteur then perhaps it's best to investigate." Spy gave no room for debate as he cloaked out of sight. Medic looked at his Russian comrade, using their psychic connection to give him a few orders before running off as well.

Heavy Weapons Guy nodded and turned to the Oracle. "Tiny fairy and other little men stay here, tell Engineer to close ways out." He ordered, donning his Gloves of Running Urgently (or GRU) for short, a pair of large red boxing gloves with flame decals. After wearing the gloves a symbol of a white skull and crossbones appeared above his head. "We will find and crush little intruder." And the giant Russian ran off as well, leaving the Oracle alone with a handful of Basilicom workers.

"Good luck." She said to no one in particular. 'These mercenaries are really putting their all into it…' She thought, feeling pretty glad for their diligence. It's saved her today and it may save her again if that really was an intruder. '…But it really sounded like just a mouse.'

"What are we going to do? Lady Histoire?" One of the Basilicom workers asked.

"Obey Heavy's command, contact the Engineer and tell him to block all possible ways out. No one is leaving or entering until the mercenaries say so. Also update the Sniper and Scout on the situation, get them to start looking as well."

* * *

Soldier cranked the lever on his Cow Mangler 5000 as Demoman and Pyro rushed in to gain the monster's attention. The former used the Splendid Screen, a rounded iron shield splattered with dried blood, and the Demo launched himself into the air by using the fallen tree as a stepping stone and using the shield's charge ability ("Get 'am, boyos!" he screamed as he flew ). The Demolition Man then delivered a Critical overhead slash to the beast's neck, the blow stunning the giant for a short amount of time, enough for Pyro to burn through the blockade with its weapon, destroying the wood and making the entire tree crumble into dust shortly later.

"Woah!" Falcom breathed out in amazement, limping a little away from the burning tree. She can feel the heat even from there.

"IF!" Soldier began, finishing the reloading. "That thing was brown earlier, why's it purple now?" He asked, turning around to face the shocked brunette.

"A Viral Ancient Dragon!? It can level an entire nation even with wounds like this! W-When did it-" She paled, and Soldier placed a hand on her shoulder and shook it roughly.

"Focus, sissy! They need you out there!" He shouted in her ear. The Guild agent winced and held it painfully.

"I know that already! I'm not chickening out, I was just surprised. The reports said it should be a normal Ancient Dragon, and you confirmed it yourself earlier. It just happened to turn Viral at a time like this, huh, just our luck…"

IF withdrew her Katars and glanced at the nervous CPU Candidate. "Gear, now might be a good time to transform, ya know."

Nepgear looked at the brunette's determined face and quickly made her mind up. "Processor unit, set!"

While the CPU was going HDD, the rocket launcher-wielding mercenary took the nurse for a short ride. "Let's go, greenhorn! We got an injured to save!" Soldier rocket-jumped with Compa ("Weeeeeee!" she cried joyfully) towards Nisa, who's still in agony and on the brink of death.

"Processor unit, complete!" The now-transformed Purple Sister took to the air and flew around the dragon, irritating it enough for Pyro to get close enough and try lighting it on fire with its flame thrower, but the fire-proof scales were having none of it. The firebug had to eventually retreat unless it wished to get stomped.

When the nurse landed from the brief flight, the first thing she did was sprint towards the fallen heroine with her drill sergeant providing cover fire. 'Good, she's still alive!' The nurse-in-training noted. The heroine of justice was still coughing blood and generally fought desperately for breath while getting weaker with each passing second. Her once proud and confident blue eyes were scared and bloodshot. The keeper of justice weakly and pathetically gripped Compa's foot, pleading her to save her. It's a miracle she's still conscious by this point!

Compa did not waste any time activating the Quick Fix. The healing beam began fixing the broken bones and destroyed windpipe, setting her shoulder properly as well. The moment she was able to breathe again, Nisa took the deepest and longest breath in her life. She looked at her now healed body in surprise, that girl had managed to heal all of her wounds faster than any healing spell she knew and even fixed her outfit too! The keeper of justice gave Compa a bone-crushing bear hug. "Th-Thank you! I don't know how you did it, but I am eternally in your debt! Tell me your name, my savior!" Nisa broke the hug, beaming at the miracle worker.

"It's Compa, oh and it's no biggy, this was my teacher's creation!" She proudly displayed the Quick Fix to the bluenette.

"Then send my gratitude to that wonderful inventor. My name is Nisa, and I am Gamindustri's heroine of justice! Now then, let's defeat that monstrosity this time!" Nisa cracked her knuckles.

"Yessy!" With the introductions over with, the two girls ran or jumped into the frontlines and rejoined the fight.

* * *

Pirachu peeked over the corner, his head paranoidly darting left and right. No one in sight. The rodent allowed himself to release a quick and quiet sigh of relief before tip-toeing across the hallway, his mind going crazy. 'Th-There was nothing about the new Basilicom staff being armed to the teeth, chu! That was even a minigun on one, chu!'

The rodent had spent over 20 minutes playing hide-and-seek with the mercenaries. There was a moment where while hiding inside a suit of decorative armor, Pirachu saw Medic passing him by, carrying the Amputator (a bonesaw with particularly pronounced angular edges and a more decorated red handle) in one hand and the Blutsauger in the other. "Come out, come out! Zhe sooner you come out, zhe sooner ve can take great care of you!" He called out. The cheerfulness in his voice made him all the more frightening.

'Just what kind of sick psychos did Histoire hire, chu?!'

After the close brush with death, the rat had taken temporary shelter in the storage room, and he was in absolute panic mode.

The room was illuminated by a fluorescent lamp attached to the ceiling, and on the floor were shelves nearly reaching the ceiling, with various things on them like toilet paper, tools, tape, props etc. A bucket with a mop leaned against one of the shelves. There was a pile of cardboard boxes in the corner, all taped so the contents were unknown, and above them was a vent grate screwed shut. On the wall opposite the vent was a window, but it was out of reach and locked.

Suddenly something fell onto the floor, making Pirachu jump and yelp as he spun around. No one was there, only a can of green paint which fell down and spilled.

The rodent gave a small sigh of relief. "[This isn't good for my heart, chu.]" He muttered, before realizing something.

The rodent slowly raised his head upwards, eyes kept on one of the shelves. On top of it he spotted a white bird with a red splotch on it. Archimedes the Dove, Medic's favorite dove.

The dove cooed when the rat spotted him, as if to say "Hi", tilting its head curiously as it stared at the giant mouse. 'Stupid bird, spooking me like that, chu.' Pirachu thought disgruntledly. 'Wait, why does it have a red stain on it? That looks like- NO, it has to be paint! It has to be, right, chu!?'

Then the rat heard footsteps.

His heart stopped.

His entire body froze.

Archimedes cooed again.

The rat's panic intensified.

His red eyes panickedly darted across the storage room, bad idea in hindsight considering it's a near dead end. Only the vents seemed like a viable escape, but they were screwed shut and he had no means of opening the grate. This will be his literal DEAD end if the rodent doesn't find anywhere to hide RIGHT this instant.

…The footsteps…

…Are getting…

…Closer…

* * *

Falcom, while glad for the reinforcements, didn't want to be outdone. The Demoman, IF and Nepgear were holding their ground very well and the adventurer was still able to cast a few spells, so Falcom decided she could at least be the ranged support and provide additional DPS and cover. The adventurer braced her sword for another ranged magic attack. "Photon Blade!"

But nothing happened…

"Huh?" Her eyes widen from surprise and shock. Her hand instinctively went for the SP Charger. Weird, she could have sworn she had enough SP…

"You can't use magic with transformed Gear around!" IF explained, somersaulting over the Dragon's hand which tried to sweep IF away. "Tch! It's too tough. Gear! Tackle it from behind!" The Guild agent ordered.

"Yes!-AHH!" The CPU Candidate was smacked down by the Dragon's tail, crashing through two trees and getting stuck inside a third. "Gear!" "Ge-Ge!" IF and Compa cried out in alarm as the Ancient Dragon forgot about everyone else to finish off the injured.

Before the dragon could take a one step towards the CPU, it was hit by another charged energy blast from Soldier! "You reptilian maggot! I'm gonna rip and tear out all your guts! And you're huge! That means you have huge guts!"

While the knockback from the explosion caused the dragon to stagger towards Nepgear, it allowed Falcom and Demoman to climb onto its back. "Hey! Yer that lassie from the pub! Falcom was it?" The scot grinned to the adventurer as he stabbed the monster's wing socket, trying to rip it out.

"Hmm? Have we met somewhere?" Falcom blinked, genuinely confused as she slashed open the healed scar from the shrapnel.

"Aye! You and me had a drinking competition, yesterday!" Demo jumped down, the dragon roaring in pain as he did so.

"Ah, so that's why most of my credits were missing. Tell me… I wasn't doing anything… embarrassing, was I?" The adventurer blushed slightly as she jumped down as well. For good measure the Demolition Man pulled out the Grenade Launcher and shot two grenades into its tail, blowing it to shreds! "Wow! I never thought about using explosives against dragons! Amazing!"

"Less talk! More fight!" Soldier barked, firing a blast of energy into the dragon's head.

* * *

Pirachu's mind went into overdrive. Whoever that person is they MUST come here, this is the only room in the back hallway, with the doors being at the end of it.

Each step meant he had less and less time. Stomp. Stomp. Stomp. Stomp. The methodical sound of footsteps, this person wasn't in a rush, but he wasn't crawling either…

The window was not an option, it was beyond his reach and even then he doubted he could open it. So Pirachu had two options; 1) Try to unlock the vent. Sure it will buy him a few seconds, assuming he succeeds, but there's no way for him to screw the grate back in, so they'll quickly figure out where he is. Or 2), hide in the box pile. That might work to hide from the person coming in, but there's a chance of that person searching this room thoroughly, and this is the sole hiding place. If that person bothered to search it he would be found in seconds.

Boxes…?

Vents…?

So little time…

Such a hard choice…

"[Screw it.]" Pirachu moved and squeezed in the small space between the boxes and the wall, to make his half-assed attempt slightly better he moved one of the boxes in front of him. Archimedes as if to damn him to hell flew on top of the pile and cooed at Pirachu, annoying the rat. He put his finger to his mouth and shushed.

Which he quickly cut off because he could hear the doors being opened…

His heart pounded so hard that the rodent feared that the person could hear it. The atmosphere was eerie and quiet. Pirachu even thought that the person left, he couldn't hear anything over his thumping heart, but then.

"Zhere you are!"

Pirachu froze, he was sure he had a heart attack right then and there…

* * *

Even against 8 people, the Viral Ancient Dragon stood tall, but the wounds eventually wore it down, and with its tail gone the lizard tripped more often and much easier, until it adapted quickly and fought on all fours, swiping its arms, chomping down on people or even breathing fire!

The dragon bit down hard onto the charging Demoman's neck, taking his right hand in the process as well. The merc screamed in pain as he tried to stab the dragon from the inside, which only made the monster wriggle its head and kill him. Conveniently the Reanimator landed within Compa's reach. Both Soldier and IF announced their ally's demise at the same time.

"Demo down!"

"Demoman's dead, Compa you know what to do!"

A brief cold wave of uncontrollable fear washed over the Guild agent as she had brief flashbacks of her own death, but the dragon's roar helped her push these thoughts away and refocus back on the battle.

If the Nurse remembered correctly she just needs to heal the hologram with the Quick Fix in order to revive the person, and then heal them a few moments more after it due to them having only half of their health.

Both Nisa and Falcom grew paler at the mangled dead body, but both of them also took note that the rest of them paid much less mind to someone's death than normal people would, especially when the victim was supposed to be a friend.

However both of them had to push these thoughts away. With the others so calm, both of them found it easy to believe there really was nothing to worry about. They had both experienced the power of the Quick Fix afterall, Nisa when she was on the verge of death, Falcom when Compa found time to heal her fatigue and minor wounds within seconds. If anything could fix the dead, it's that miracle gun. Sure enough, they could hear him again not long after.

"I'm back lads!" Demoman announced, fresh from the Re:Spawn. The Scot thumbed up to the Nurse before charging off with a battle cry, his sword scraping the dragon's throat right before the monster breathed another stream of fire at him.

"We can't fight it all day! We need to finish this now!" IF yelled, dropping onto one knee and panting. Pyro extinguished the burning Demoman (which the Scot was very grateful for) with its Manmelter, a grey, retro-futuristic laser pistol, with a small vial that contains red liquid. The pistol somehow sucked the flames right off of the Scotsman and glowed with red critical energy before Pyro pulled the trigger and launching a flaming critical bolt at the beast.

The flare shot out the dragon's right eye in the one-in-a-million shot. Everyone stopped as the monster stood on its hind legs, clutching its face with its gigantic arms. The Viral Ancient Dragon unleashed a deafening bellow of pain as it fell onto its back and started thrashing wildly, breaking the already damaged areas and its wing, but it didn't care, the eye hurt even more than that.

The humans below ran the fuck away from that thing, getting caught by such irregular movement would grant certain loss of life.

The overgrown lizard finally met its demise when it managed to impale a giant tree trunk into its back wound, the wood severing most of the veins attached to the heart and the splinters blocked the rest. Everyone watched as one of the fiercest monsters of Gamindustri was finally felled... by a tree…

"Well…" IF began. "That was kind of anti-climatic…" She fell onto her knees, then dropped onto the partially burnt grass, too tired to move. Nisa and Falcom followed suit with Compa a little later.

"Hmph…" Soldier murmured, his hand stroking his chin, then shrugged. "I guess the kill goes to you, Pyro! Outstanding shot!" The crazed patriot walked towards the firebug and gave him a pat on the shoulder and a high-five.

* * *

"Archimedes, how did you get here?" Pirachu resisted the urge to release a massive sigh of relief, then quickly shifted back into panic as he realized the saw-wielding syringe-shooting psycho had entered the room. Archimedes turned towards the man and cooed, flying onto his waiting left hand and chirping pleasantly as the German stroked the bird with his index and middle finger.

Pirachu watched Medic spoil the bird for a moment longer before placing it onto his shoulder. "Come on, Archimedes. Ve need to catch zhe intruder." Medic stepped back towards the door. Just when Pirachu thought he was safe though, Medic took his Blutsauger and fired a shot at the box pile, right in front of Pirachu. The rat jumped slightly from surprise and stared at the syringe filled with transparent liquid.

"You thought I vouldn't notice? I have seen herr Heavy sneaking better zhan you. Now step out of zhere." The German ordered, keeping his syringe gun pointed at the box pile.

Slowly and reluctantly, the mouse left his hiding place, his arms raised. "I-I-I surrender, chu!" He stuttered. To his relief, he got to live another day.

* * *

The ASIC rodent found himself in front of Planeptune's Oracle, surrounded by the mercenaries and Basilicom staff from all sides, also with his hands tied. "So it is la souris afterall…" Spy commented, earning a confused look from the Oracle, the rat and a few Basilicom workers.

"La souris?" The fairy slowly repeated, tasting the new language on her tongue.

"French, not important." Spy waved his hand dismissively.

"Can I go home? I'm kinda scared of the big guy, and the one in the lab coat with the saw." Pirachu pleaded, earning a sigh from the Oracle.

"After you answer a few questions. First is your name."

"My name? I am the best mascot in Gamindustri, Pirachu! Chu." He proudly announced.

"[Mascot?]" Heavy Weapons Guy looked at Doctor, who only shrugged.

"Second is, what do you know about the assassination attempt?" Spy asked impatiently, blowing some of the cigarette's smoke out of his mouth and giving Histoire a coughing fit (concerning the Basilicom's doctor) despite not being in close proximity to her at all.

"Spy, please, go smoke outside." She pleaded nicely. The Frenchie rolled his eyes and stepped outside, leaning against the doorframe with his back turned towards the rest of the group. Histoire mouthed a weak "Thank you." before recomposing herself.

"I-I dunno anything about it. The ASIC may be bad guys, but we never went so far as to deliberately kill anyone!" Pirachu shrugged.

'Hmm… I know a liar when I see one, and he seems to be telling the truth, so who was behind it then?' Histoire noted.

Meanwhile, the temperature in the room seemed to drop. Pirachu wondered if he said anything wrong when he noticed the faintest of smirks on Medic and Heavy. Spy also grinned, but it was quickly hidden when he blew some more of the toxic smoke out of his mouth. "So you're admitting you're working with the ASIC, hmm?" Frenchie asked with a tone of sadism.

Histoire blanched, she knew what was coming. "Mercenaries, stop! Let him talk." She ordered, for hers and the mouse's sake, knowing that these professional murderers would not hesitate to kill him here and now.

"I'm not doing anything, mademoiselle Histoire. I'm letting him talk, for now." Spy replied smugly, taking another cigarette out of his Disguise Kit, and taking Pirachu's data into the system.

"Y-Yes, I'm working for the ASIC, nothing big though I am just a simple underling, chu." The rat admitted, awkwardly nodding. He knew that there's no escaping it now but at least the Oracle was showing mercy and letting him live, bless her soul!

"What was the reason you climbed onto the catwalks above the stage?" Histoire inquired, this one her actual main concern. What was this rodent doing there?

Pirachu awkwardly laughed, he would scratch his neck if he could. "Good question, hehehe. I just wanted a good spot, that's all." His answer was met with blank stares from the Oracle and Spy.

"You wanted what?" The book fairy repeated.

"A good spot, to watch, chu." Rat innocently said again.

Spy facepalmed and hand-gestured for Engineer and Sniper to stop the blockage. Even if the Oracle did tell them to not kill him, he will eventually meet his demise a little later, just to be safe. Unless he quickly leaves the ASIC and disappears off the face of Gamindustri.

* * *

With the overgrown corrupted lizard dead and the party rested, it was time for the introductions and a little small talk. "Now that that's over, I think we should at least tell each other our names. I'm Falcom, adventurer and part-time musician, nice to meet you all!" The red-head beamed, sheathing her sword back into her violin case, which earning a confused look from IF, but she said nothing. Time spent with the mercenaries taught her to stop questioning weird little things like that…

"And I'm Nisa, Gamindustri's heroine of justice!" The heroine posed heroically, her red scarf heroically fluttering against imaginary wind. Then her deep blue eyes locked on Compa and Nisa slightly bowed. "As I said before, I'm indebted to you, Compa. If you ever need help with anything, I shall gladly lend you a hand." She said sincerely.

"That's fine! I'm Compa, a Nurse-in-training learning from a very skilled Medic!" The busty nurse chirped.

"The name's IF, I'm a Guild member stationed here in Planeptune. And these guys are Pyro, Soldier and Demoman." The brunette motioned to each merc before turning back to the girls. "Anyway. Nisa? I think there is something you could help us with."

"You ask, and I shall do it." Nisa perked up, Falcom did as well, also owing a few favors to the mercenaries.

"We're planning on stopping the ASIC, but we still need some help. Will you join us?" The Guild agent extended her hand to the heroine.

"I'm mostly fighting alone… but a promise is a promise. And the ASIC is a villainous organization which needs to be brought down. I shall gladly lend you my hand in defeating them!" Nisa placed her hand on top of IF's. Falcom did so too with determined look.

"I'll join too. The ASIC have defiled Gamindustri for too long. It's high time someone stepped in."

Compa did the same, and the girls raised their hands into the sky. The joy of having new teammates was quickly shot down however…

A pale (as pale as he can be) Demoman jogged towards the girls and asked, his voice worried. "Aye, IF! Have ya seen Nepgear!?" IF blanched, frantically looking around in hopes of finding the CPU Candidate.

"Gear? Hey, Gear!?" The Guild agent put her hands around her mouth and yelled, hoping the lilac-haired girl would hear.

"Ge-Ge? This is no time for hide-and-seek!" Compa joined it, followed by Falcom and Nisa.

IF's mind started to worry more with each passing second. The CPU Candidate has suddenly disappeared without any trace. The Guild agent's mind tried to remember when the last time she saw her was… She was hit by the Ancient Dragon, then she broke through several trees before-! "[Trees!]" IF suddenly sprinted towards the spot where Nepgear should be stuck in the tree, leaping over the dragon's gigantic hand, and managed to spot the human-sized indention in one of the trees…

…No one was there…

…She's gone…

…There's nothing there…

…Nepgear has _disappeared_ …

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Davids and Goliath**

* * *

And with that cliffhanger I'm going to be a dick and end the episode. Why Nepgear disappeared? Why I didn't show those new canteens at all? And how the two new addition to the team will cope with mercenaries' insanity? Y'all have to wait for new episode. Well everyone but me of course, I know how it will go. And I'm looking forward the next one.

I said it before and I'm gonna repeat it. I didn't see Nisa at all anywhere besides fanarts or fanfictions. So I'm completely relying on her wiki page so I'm sorry if she will appear OOC.

Responses:

\- Jiffcef

I have many things inside my sleeve, a few friends of mine even named me the 'Idea Machine' :v

\- BreadNotDead (I can call her my faithful reviewer now)

Yessy! The other makers don't get enough love as they should. And I love CC2, she's adorable and to be serious I also thought these ears and tail are real till she said they aren't. (well she still looks cute in them)

The crates are basically my way of giving mercs some cool new stuff. Also I would love to see Nepgear wearing a hat like Team Captain with Burning Flames unusual effect. (I might make her wear it if I decide to end this with Conquest Ending). And yes that was Nisa at the gym, I'm planning on making her spend time with more of powerhouses like Heavy or Soldier.

\- Piggyslayer1235

That… is something I'm very uncertain of. As much as I loved his videos (bless his soul, shame he died). I'm not quite sure how I would write it without crossing the line and making a lolz-MEMES! Chapter.

\- Harmless Orange


	13. Fallen Soldier

**Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Fallen Soldier**

* * *

The force of impact sent Nepgear flying. She crashed through the trees, each one hurting more than the last. If someone checked her status, they'd have seen she was at critically low health.

It didn't get any better after she came to rest, the branch she got stuck on broke and fell with her. The good news was the wood hit the ground first, softening the fall ever so slightly; the bad news was that all the splinters were driven further into her flesh, taking a chunk more of her already small amount of health on top of the fall damage.

The CPU Candidate heard an explosion and the Ancient Dragon's roar shortly after. The lizard had switched priorities after the Demolition Man just blew its tail off, a good thing as she was in no condition to fight anymore. Her entire body hurt, and the damage sustained was enough to turn her back to her human form. Without her HDD form's defense, her entire body hurt even more… There was some sort of liquid in her mouth too, with a metallic taste. Blood. She's also too weak to free herself. All she could do was wait for Compa to save her…

But Nepgear didn't manage to live long enough for that…

Suddenly there was an immense pain in her chest, even stronger than when Medic inserted the nanomachines into her body! It's right where her heart is (unless Medic switched its location) and it HURTS! Please make it stop!

Seconds passed, each feeling like a century to her. The mercenaries and Nepgear's friends were still fighting. Compa probably forgot about her for now…

The pain didn't subsided, if anything it might've gotten worse. Nepgear also found herself getting weaker and weaker, and thoughts and senses going hazy, overwhelmed by the agony. It was a struggle to keep her eyes open and it was impossible to speak, much less move a finger.

'It hurts! It hurts so much! Compa please… make it stop…'

So this is it, huh? Her very first serious battle and she managed to get herself killed. At least she died fighting against a truly dangerous foe, a Viral Ancient Dragon, died protecting her sister's nation. Maybe her death won't be in vain, maybe the mercenaries will manage to do what she couldn't?

Neptune. Her sister is still in the Gamindustri Graveyard. The CPU Candidate's only regret was that she couldn't save her herself. Goodbye. I'll see you on the other side…

…

…

..

.

...Darkness…

…An empty darkness was all that she could see on the other side…

…A blissful, painless darkness…

Nepgear tried to look around, her mind full with confusion. Nothing, no body, wounds, pain, anything. Only darkness where the eye could reach, though she wasn't sure if she had eyes anymore.

Her entire life flashed before her 'eyes' anyway, moment by moment. She remembers it all. Her first day in existence, created by Sharicite and equipped with nothing but some basic knowledge. Not even clothes, which made her birth the 2nd most embarrassing moment of her life, beaten only by the recent memory of Compa stripping her half-naked in front of a mad doctor.

A day she fixed Neptune's broken game console, and found her love for tinkering. It was a week after her birth.

Memory after memory, each of them looking as if happening in the present.

When she met Blanc, and to Neptune's dismay she spent more time with the Lowee goddess reading books than with her own sister.

Her meeting with Noire, who impressed the CPU Candidate with her diligence, much to her sister's annoyance.

The incident when she met Vert for the first time. The Leanbox's CPU tried to make Nepgear her own little sister…

Err… it was a rather painful memory. Both of them played tug-of-war with her arms…

When she met the mercenaries with their good-spirited(?) insanity that reminded her a little of Neptune… just her sister doesn't torture people by making them sprint 3 miles while constantly whipping them for running too slow.

Suddenly a light shone in front of her vision, acting as a beacon in the endless dark.

 **Re:Spawning in: 33 SECONDS**

And that's how the Planeptune's CPU Candidate Nepgear died for the very first time. The Re:Spawn System collected her body and started reconstructing her, giving the girl another chance to make her wish a reality.

Or just die another horrible death. Who knows?

* * *

Suddenly the darkness vanished, and its place a brown brick wall. A few bricks have been chipped and the mortar binding the bricks in place was slovenly placed. Nepgear stared at the bricks for a few moments. Her mind didn't register anything, it was completely blank. There wasn't any pain anymore, but her entire body felt numb, especially her chest.

The CPU Candidate turned to the left, her entire face pale and expressionless.

An opened metallic locker stood against the wall, a red cross and 3 black bullets painted on each doors. Next to it was a bench and series of other, smaller lockers. She recognized some of the mercenaries' personal belongings there. In the far corner of the small room lay junk and scrap metal.

Her mind didn't catch any of it however. Without changing her blank expression she looked to her right.

A calendar hanged from the wall, dating back to 1976 and with a picture of a half-naked woman. Another bench lay next to the wall, with two heavy-looking dumbbells under it. A bucket with a mop inside of it stood next to it.

Finally purple eyes rested on a staircase. As if on auto-pilot, Nepgear stepped onto it, and went up the stairs.

Her eyes saw, but her mind didn't register. As she ascended she passed the "Resupply Room" sign without acknowledging it.

The stairs led her into the receptionist area. The beige floor was kept more-less clean, expect for the patches of dirt or gravel here and there. 4 round light-brown wooden tables stood in the hallway, each surrounded by 4 sturdy and comfortable chairs with purple pillows added for bonus comfort.

A simple clock high up near the ceiling showed the time: it was early evening.

An active level 3 Sentry Gun behind the counter ignored her, its beeping the only thing breaking the silence. Was it any other time, Nepgear would flinch at the sight of the two chain guns and multi-rocket launcher, before getting very interested by the turret and attempt to dismantle it, much to Engineer's annoyance…

But this time, she completely ignored the machine and sat down on one of the chairs, burying her face in her hands.

Nepgear didn't know how long she sat there, doing nothing. But someone moved a chair to her right and sat on it, then poked her cheek.

"Ya feelin' alright, girlie?"

It was the Engineer's voice, concerned. Nepgear simply moved her fingers enough to peek at his frowned face, but it was enough to note how pale she looked, that ghostly look. "First death, huh?"

The CPU Candidate said nothing, she just went back to staring at the wood.

The Texan scratched his lower lip, choosing his words carefully. "Look, you're doin' fine, girlie! Ya may not know it, but the fact that you didn' break down and start cryin' means you already have Scout beat. Poor city boy even pissed his pants after the respawn." Engineer chuckled at the memory of the loud-mouthed Bostonian hugging himself and crying with a puddle of urine growing under him.

But Nepgear's lack of reaction quickly killed his amusement. Hardhat cleared his throat. "Right. Too soon." His mind searched for a way to cheer up the traumatized girl. He remembers his own first death and it wasn't a pretty one.

"H-How was it?"

It was the first sentence she made in what felt like ages. The sound coming from her mouth was quiet, hollow and scared.

"Pardon?"

"…How was it? Y-Your… first death, I mean…"

Engineer took a deep breath. He and the boys had an agreement to not reveal their pasts, during and prior to the Gravel War. But no one else was around, not even a Spy (Engineer's left ear starts to itch when a cloaked Spy is around) and the girl needs to be distracted somehow, so how much could a short tale hurt?

"Alright, c'mere." The Texan wrapped his hand around her shoulders. Nepgear's eyes widened a bit.

"H-huh? W-where are we going?"

Finally there was some life in her eyes, all it needed was a surprise. Engineer grinned slightly as he dragged her away from the seat.

"To my room. Got some pictures there that might help ya visualize it."

* * *

Engineer's room could be described as messy as hell and it'd be no exaggeration. Crates, scrap metal, oil stains, Sentry Guns, Dispensers (both buildings disabled), and other things lay everywhere. Nepgear managed to find a few blueprints lying on the desk, but all she could understand were the names of the interesting inventions.

"Repulsion Gel", "Aerial Faith Plate", "Combustible Lemon" and "Portable Combustible Lemon Launcher".

The first two sounded interesting, the latter two however… No comments…

The Texan paid them no mind however, sweeping them away as if they were trash and replaced them with several pictures in Technicolor. The first one showed a barren land with a few wooden shacks built onto it, some of them had logos of companies painted on them like "Cornwell" or "Jenkin Coal Co." But what are they doing there? Nepgear doesn't know.

Well the Jenkin one sounds like an easy one…

The second picture showed a huge rocket among other buildings…

"It was our very first assignment, we had to defend one of our employer's mining facilities. 'Dustbowl', we called it." Engineer motioned for the CPU Candidate to sit on the bed. She obliged and kept looking at the pictures while Hardhat sat on the chair and turned towards the candidate.

"Anyway, since it was our first time workin' together, things were a little rough. There were no nanomachines to power us up or medi-guns to patch our tails when they're full of holes. All we had was Re:Spawn which the folks in charge had to enter data into manually."

"I wasn' used to fight before, ya know." Engineer smiled bitterly. Nepgear kept listening in silence, but she nodded for him to continue. "But I needed to, to support the wife and kids, so I signed up the contract and constructed this lil' thing." Hardhat patted the disabled level 1 Sentry Gun.

"The first fight was hard for both teams. We didn' know anyone, enemies or allies, all they told us was that we were perfect candidates for the Team Fortress. So I was waiting inside the shack with the first point they needed to cap, with the Sentry Gun ready. The other boys pushed further and took positions there, leavin' me alone."

"Suddenly this BLU Spy appears behind me." Engie looks over his shoulder out of habit. Seeing nothing but wall he turned back and continued. "He had no disguise, so the Sentry quickly locked onto him. Problem was, I was between 'em. I barely had any idea what's going on, so I just stood there like a dummy while he grabbed me and covered my mouth so I couldn't scream."

"You know, the Sentries were color coded back then, fire at everythin' that's moving an' not red, figured it might work since our side had to wear red while on the job. It did work nicely, but I forgot one small detail. I made a mistake and didn't think of what happens when you're between the Sentry and the target. That's what got me killed the first time." Engineer sighed, going to the more traumatic part.

"The turret fired, right into my gut, and it kept on firin' until I died, all while I screamed, bled and tried to get out. But ta snake held me tight, his dirty hands gaggin' me. The bastard was laughing even."

"I wasn't keen on goin' back there after that, most of us weren't, even the BLUs were afraid. But we still needed our pay, ya know, so eventually we left the Spawn and went back to the frontlines. And ya know what I found there? Same Spy, bleedin' to death next to my Sentry as it kept clicking at the French boy, all outta lead. We looked each other in the eye. The End." Engineer finished his tale with a dark smirk, leaving the ending open for imagination, as the Texan withheld the rest of the story: him brutally beating the BLU Spy to death with a wrench as revenge. The girl doesn't need to know that. And Engineer never saw that BLU spook again for the rest of the match.

"Ya understand, girl. It's normal for you to feel scared, but you're alive now and given another chance, with new knowledge and experience that you can use later. That's the true power of Re:Spawn, not the immortality, but the ability to learn from dyin' and use it to not die again."

The Texan stood up, walked towards the CPU Candidate and placed his gloved hand on her shoulder. Engie could see a bit of the Gunslinger peeking from underneath the glove, another story for another day. "You have a big sis, right?" He asked.

Nepgear nodded, a bit more life in her once lifeless eyes. "Mhm, Neptune. B-But… she's still captured."

Engineer shrugged and sat next to her. "We're workin' on that, aren't we? And won't your sis get worried if you get all traumatized over somethin' like this?"

A small smile appeared on the candidate's face. "…Yeah, you're right. She wouldn't want to see me like this." But then the smile was replaced with a frown. "But… do I have what it takes? I mean-"

"Girl."

Engineer pressed his finger on her lip, his disappointed look hidden behind his goggles. "Ya just cheated death. Do you think there's anything that can stop you now?"

She fell silent, considering his words. It's true, she achieved a feat that most of people could only dream about, a feat that even surpasses the Goddesses. But is it really enough? She just died on her very first battle! Pretty horribly at that… If this is going to be her entire life now, constantly dying to overcome a single obstacle, then…

As if reading her mind, Engineer suddenly said as he stood up. "And if there is actually something that gives you trouble, me and other boys will gladly take care of it. That's what we're being paid for afterall. Anyway…"

Suddenly a bag full of scrap metal was thrown onto the floor in front of her, the loud sound causing the candidate to yelp. She stared at the bag full of junk before lifting her head to look at Engie.

"I recall you askin' about my dispenser."

This one sentence made her forget all that horrible pain she felt just… an HOUR ago!? (time sure flies fast) and made her eyes sparkle like there's no tomorrow.

* * *

Nepgear, clad in a yellow hardhat (which was a little too big for her) and borrowed goggles, played with the level 1 Dispenser Engineer built for her. Her job was to manually disassemble and then reassemble it entirely, with him watching her like a hawk and pointing out the mistakes. The lilac-haired girl quickly understood the inner workings of said machine, but Engineer was careful enough to stop her from disassembling some of the parts entirely (so she won't be able to reverse engineer his creation in case Histoire was dumb enough to give their technology to the general public). All she needed to do was correctly remove and insert back the parts inside the casing and then wire everything with a new set of cables.

"The wiring's wrong." Engie casually noted, tapping the part in charge of creating metal. "The cables should go; red, green, orange, blue and pink." He pointed out.

"Oh goodness, right!"

"Atta girl." Hardhat praised.

Texan briefly left her side, going for the drawer in his desk. Inside he found the two Power Up Canteens. Engie winced, he forgot telling the team about those… He'll have to do it later.

This wasn't what he wanted however, as Engineer placed the canteens onto the desk and snatched the worn-out photo at the bottom of the drawer.

It showed him, a little younger, with a woman and a boy standing between them. Irene, his wife, who took the kid and divorced him. He's lost all contact with his son for a while, but last time he heard from him he was doing fine. Perhaps he wasn't the best father on the planet, but he does love his family.

Engie glanced back at Nepgear, who's screwing a part the wrong way. "Ya screwing it upside-down." Hardhat pointed out, and the reaction was instantaneous, with her apologizing and quickly unscrewing it.

She'll be okay, he thought to himself. She's a strong one, this one. She just needs someone to teach her a few things.

Some people may think it weird, but Nepgear loves tinkering, especially with such complex machinery like the mercenary's dispenser. Sure the Engineer's restrictions disappointed her a little but that's a small price for seeing such a beautiful machine up close!

She worked in silence, thinking about Engineer's words, the Re:Spawn System's true advantage, and the tale he told her, everything…

They both made mistakes on the battlefield and paid with their lives, but unlike so many others, they came back, maybe not stronger, but with more experience, and with that, Engineer grew stronger. If he could do it, then so can she.

Learn from death to not die anymore… Yes, she surpassed death today…

If even death can't stop her…

…Does that mean she can really…?

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Fallen Soldier**

* * *

Hello internet! I hope you enjoyed this short and sweet but pretty important chapter. So Nepgear died (pretty fucking horribly… Mwhehehehehe) and it shocked her so much that her mind went blank. To be honest this chapter is based on 'Hyperdemise Nepgear Re:Try' by Zetta1001, and Re:Zero. Why this animu? I won't tell cuz spoilers. (Hint: Chapter 15)

Why this is important? Well this is major point for Nepgear's character development, she just died and came back from the death your character just CAN'T NOT change after such an experience.

Also I just received a fan art of Nepgear, based on this fanfic. It looks nice, I posted it on reddit (r/Gamindustri) already and it's link can be found in my profile (if I manage to set it up, if not then you need to search on said subreddit, but just type fic's name to find it)

Responses:

Piggyslayer1235 –

Well we sorted it out privately, so not gonna respond here.

Guest –

Yeah, this sucks… and congratulations on correctly guessing what happened to Nepgear :v

BreadNotDead –

I think this chapter answers what happened to her, and if you thinks that I nailed Nisa correctly then yay me!

I feel like if I limit the mercs' insanity to only a limited amount of main cast then this story could become pretty boring, why limit yourself with small spark when you can have an entire inferno of insanity?

\- Harmless Orange


	14. Beep Beep Boop! Robots And Haircuts

_Robots who beep have higher intelligence than those who boop._

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Beep Beep Boop! Robots And Haircuts**

* * *

Upon realizing Nepgear had disappeared, everyone panicked and searched the Virtua Forest high and low until Compa pointed out that she may have died and Re:Spawned.

The Nurse didn't notice the brief ghostly look on her childhood friend.

The group rushed back to the hotel where they fortunately found the CPU Candidate, along with Engineer. The two of them helped the others catch up on what happened, Nepgear on her death and Engineer on the assassination attempt.

"Wha-! Really!? Histoire almost got assassinated!?" IF squealed in surprise. In the background Compa hugged Nepgear while apologizing for leaving her to die.

"Such cowardice, attempting to kill someone with such means!" Nisa grit her teeth in anger, trying to keep herself from going violent and throwing the table across the reception. Engineer's eyebrows raised upon seeing the new faces.

"I ain't seen you two 'round here before. I'm Engineer, pleased to meetcha." He extended his gloved hand.

"My name is Falcom, an adventurer and part-time musician." The red-head adventurer wrapped her hand around his. It felt… wrong, but Falcom can't quite put a finger on what felt so strange.

"I am Gamindustri's keeper of justice! Nisa!" The bluenette introduced herself, her soul burning with passion.

"Is Histoire alright, Engineer?" Nepgear suddenly asked, finally wrenching Compa off herself (as politely as possible.)

The Texan nodded and casually took a swig of the bottle of beer. "Yup, but she locked 'erself up in her office, none but you or Spy comin' in."

"I-I have to see her! I'm sorry." The CPU Candidate ran up the stairs, towards the teleporter to the Basilicom.

The Guild agent called out to her. "Gear!?"

"Don't stop her, girl. She needs to check on her." Engineer said, watching the Candidate go.

"I know, it's- I dunno…" The brunette was a little at a loss for words; she actually didn't know what she wanted to do, other than that she was worried for her friend. "Anyway, so what are we doing now? And where are the others? Where's Soldier? He was here just a few moments ago…" The Guild agent asked, her emerald eyes searching for the patriot.

"Didn't Mister Soldier go upstairs?" Compa pointed out.

"Well… y'all free for the rest of the day. As for the others… they're doing their own things." The Texan shrugged. "But I know the Spy's busy infiltrating an ASIC base, so he'll be out for the rest of the day." He added before his gaze fixed on Compa. "And you, girlie, might wanna give that back to the doc now. He's been pissed ever since he realized someone stole that from him."

"Huh?" The nurse's eyes widened from shock and looked at the Quick Fix in her hands. "But Soldier said-"

Suddenly Soldier's cry of pain was heard, its owner painfully falling down the stairs. From the floor above Medic's foot peeked from the hole in the ceiling. "I guess he knows the culprit then." The Texan commented.

Looking back at the Soldier, he seemed to be wearing a silly robot costume consisting of the 'Idiot Box' (A crude robot mask made from a cardboard box with red plastic cups taped on for eyes and a coat hanger for an antennae. Soldier sees out of the mouth hole.), the 'Steel Pipes' (a pair of dryer hoses that go over the arms), and the 'Shoestring Budget' (a pair of shoeboxes with red lids crudely fashioned into a pair of robot feet).

The Doctor casually went down the stairs as if he just didn't kick his teammate down them a few seconds ago. "Yes, herr Engineer, I know whose idea it was." He looked at the girls, registering 2 new faces. The heroine and adventurer shifted nervously under his gaze. "Zhis should be a lesson for all of you. Don't take someone else's things vithout their consent."

"What's… with the robot suit?" Falcom cautiously asked, eyeing the downed man. "Is… he alright?"

"Oh don't vorry, fräulein, this happens all the time." Medic, who didn't care about the new faces, clapped twice. The Tin Soldier-wearing Soldier jumped onto his feet without hesitation.

"Beep-bop-boop! I am a robot!" The (human) robot announced with a robot-like voice. The girls sweatdropped at the display.

"Now, Compa? Ready for another lesson?" Medic asked the nurse, completely ignoring Soldier's shenanigans. The busty blonde perked up and skipped to her teacher with an enthusiastic "Mhm!", following him to the medical bay for another lesson, leaving the group to deal with the brain-dead mercenary…

…who's currently standing in front of the mirror with his hands raised in surrender. "Oh no! That robot is a ghost!"

"Is this… normal?" Nisa asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's actually kinda funny." Falcom commented.

"The natural enemy of robots are hippies!" The 'robot' picked up his mighty weapon of mass destruction! (A flyswatter.)

"Yes." IF admitted with a sigh. "It's quite normal with them."

"That's what happens when you piss off the doc. Either you wake up on an operating table, or that." Engineer pointed at Soldier beating hippies to death (slapping leaves of poor potted plants with a flyswatter.)

"Beep beep boop. Maggot!"

IF simply let the insanity continue, defeated, and reached for an unopened beer bottle while the group watched the comedy of Soldier trying to convince the plant into living with him. "Come with me if you want to live. With me. In my apartment. I need a roommate."

"Stay on your Medic's good side, duly noted." Everyone nodded to Nisa's statement, and eventually the heroine of justice and adventurer also went for drinks. At least they got some free entertainment.

* * *

Miss Pauling stared at the BLU Spy with wide eyes. No it couldn't be, they failed BOTH objectives!? The Administrator is going to be SO pissed. Her right hand gripped her hair with both hands and started pulling it. 'Th-There must be something we can do! Th-There's no way they pulled out an entire damn control point from the ground!'

While Miss Pauling was having her panic attack, Saxton HALE!1! scratched his ear. "Hold on, Frenchie. What did this teleporter look like?" He asked, having an idea but it needs confirmation.

"It was a control point, but modified." The assistant sighed, not getting a single idea on how to save this mission.

An unlit lightbulb appeared above Saxton Hale's head. The Australian patiently waited a moment for it to light up but to no avail. With a confused expression the CEO of Mann Co. poked the bulb, but the only thing he got was sparks coming out of the broken bulb. With a snap of his fingers he threw the defective lightbulb away and pulled out a brand-new one from his mighty chest hair to replace it. The new lightbulb lit up and a goofy smile appeared on Hale's face.

He turned his back towards Miss Pauling and BLU Spy and shoved his arms back into his Australia-shaped chest hair. BLU Sniper's eyes widened from shock and surprise when he saw this moment, a wave of jealousy washing over him, knowing he'll never be even half the mann Hale is.

For a few seconds Saxton searched within the insides of his chest hair for the item he wanted, occasionally pulling out some random useless things like the Shahanshah or The Shasahahsnahshanshanshahasnsha or whatever it's called because he can't pronounce its damn name for god's sake! (Said stupid thing was basically a scimitar with a leather hilt that is reinforced by dull golden bindings and a gold hand guard.)

Hale forgot how it even ended up there, so he threw it out. Moving on. An Aperture Science Combustible Lemon, a sandvich (Still looks tasty, nom), a bar of Australium…

Err… This goes back into his chest hair, that's too valuable to lose.

Finally he found what he was looking for and pulled it out; the moment it left the confinement of his mighty chest hair, the item became so large that Saxton Hale had to spread his arms around to hold it. It's bigger than him! But that's not a problem for him and his mannly chest hair!

"Hale…?" Miss Pauling gasped, rubbing her eyes to see if it's not a dream. How did he…?

"Mon dieu…" BLU Spy's jaw dropped, releasing the cigarette inside. Its loss brought him back from the awe, and the Frenchie replaced it with a new one.

"Surprised, huh? I believe this what we were looking for." Saxton Hale peeked over from the control point/teleporter Spy said the robots stole.

"B-But… How did you…?" Miss Pauling stuttered, pinching her arm repeatedly to see if she's dreaming. So far no suddenly waking up.

"What? You expect me to just blindly charge in when the chain-smoking seductress asked specifically for this?" The CEO of Mann Co. laughed and hid the control point back into his chest hair. "I just took this with me when we arrived and went back to the good ol' brawl!"

A hand clapped down on his knee, and the CEO of Mann Co. looked down to see it was a Robo-Soldier's metal hand. "Beep… boop…" It said weakly. Saxton casually finished it off by stomping down onto its head and gritting his boot against it.

Miss Pauling simply starred at him blankly, her brain not knowing if she should kiss him for saving her from Helen's wrath, or shoot him for making her worry like that.

* * *

"Umm, Histo-AHH!" Nepgear dodged a sudden icicle coming to meet her face. The attacker turned out to be a frightened Oracle who was hiding behind her desk, with only her hand and the top of her tiny head visible.

Only after firing the ice did Histoire notice who was entering. Her eyes widened from shock as she raised herself from cover. "N-Nepgear!? I'm so sorry, are you alright? I didn't hurt you, right?" The fairy asked, concern and shame in her voice. What sort of Oracle was she if she attacked her own Goddess like that?

"I'm fine, just. Y-You surprised me." Nepgear cautiously stepping into the room, tense and on guard in case of another attack.

"I apologize. I've been a bit on edge ever since the press conference. A lot things happened there." Histoire sighed, resting her forehead on her adorable arm.

"I know, I heard from Engineer what happened. Are you alright?" The CPU Candidate dropped her guard and replaced it with worry.

"I'm fine. The mercenaries did a good job defending me. Anyway, welcome back, Nepgear." The fairy forced a smile, a perfect façade she was used to putting on so many times during the ASIC outbreak. "How did the quest go?"

"We managed to defeat the Ancient Dragon, but…" Nepgear raised her hand to her chest. Time for more uncomfortable information… "But I died, during the fight…" She said weakly

Histoire blinked. She heard it correctly and she knew it, but the fairy still needed to hear it again for confirmation. "Pardon?"

Nepgear sat down on the chair and told her Oracle about the Viral Ancient Dragon, her and her friends' fight with it, how she met Nisa and Falcom…

…and how she died.

In detail.

It was a little hard for Histoire to take it all in, but she patiently listened as the CPU Candidate described in detail her demise. As much as the Oracle hated it, the only thing she could do in this situation was apologize. "…I'm sorry for what happened. I'm glad the respawn system worked as intended, but I shouldn't have let you fight such a dangerous foe when we don't even know the full extent of changes to your HDD. I was reckless, and you paid for it…" Oracle said worriedly, resting a comforting hand on the lilac-haired girl's own.

"It's okay, Histoire." Nepgear smiled. "Yes, it was painful, but… I feel like I learned something from it. The respawn's true advantage: Learning from death to not die anymore. I can save Neptune now, Histoire. Not even death will stop me!" The CPU Candidate announced with a determined smile.

The surprised Oracle looked at her with amazement. 'She's certainly grown a lot since IF and Compa brought her back from the Graveyard. I can remember her apologizing over every little thing before the ASIC outbreak, and here she is now, not even afraid of death.' Histoire thought to herself. It filled her with pride to see one of her CPUs grow so much, but there was still a pang of worry nagging her.

What if after ASIC is defeated and their objective finished, the mercenaries pull the plug and disable the Re:Spawn System? It would be a disaster if Nepgear died then, thinking she'll simply respawn as always. There's also the possibility of malfunction, even if the mercenaries had assured her the odds were near non-existent. The Re:Spawn System's power is great, but over-reliance on it could end in disaster…

She mentally took note of it before pushing her worries back. The road is still long, there's no need to worry herself or Nepgear with it for now, especially when the Candidate finally got a much needed confidence boost.

"I'm glad to see you're determined to rescue your sister. On that subject, I was actually doing some research, and I believe I've found something that might help us." The Oracle said, searching for the right paper in the pile of paperwork.

"What did you find, Histoire?" Nepgear blinked, looking over the pile as if she could spot it.

"I was searching for the Mascot's location here in Planeptune. Mascots are beings born from the ancient goddess, normally they oversee the balance and order of our world passively, but when needed, they will also assist the CPUs in ridding evil's influence from Gamindustri. There's one in each nation, and if we can find them, we can request their assistance." The fairy explained. "I have already spoken to Spy about it, and he's currently conducting his own investigation inside one of the ASIC's facilities. While currently I have nothing of note, I'll inform you if I or Spy finds something. In the meantime, please keep working on restoring Planeptune's shares." She finished with a nod.

Before Nepgear could even open her mouth to speak, the doors to Histoire's office were kicked open! Soldier (still wearing the Tin Soldier set) stood in the doorway; he pointed his finger at the CPU Candidate. "I found you. That's what I do. That's all I do. Shutting down…" Then his arms and shoulders dropped.

Nepgear and Histoire shared a confused glance before IF ran onto the scene. "Sorry, Histoire! Um, Soldier?" The Guild agent lightly poked his shoulder, but she got no response from the 'robot'. Sighing, she clapped 2 times.

"I am a robot! Bloop! What is love?" The robot-mercenary came back to life, and even did a little Robot Dance.

The only response Histoire could utter from her mouth was a very confused "What?"

"He's been like this ever since Medic did something to him, just ignore him." IF explained, understanding the Oracle's confusion. God forbid the day Neptune and Soldier meets, IF's patience may be big due to years of babysitting the Planeptune's CPU, but she can't help but feel she'll go crazy with those two together.

"I run on blood! I take jobs from American vampires!" Soldier randomly announced in his robot-like voice.

"Umm, are you sure he's alright?" Nepgear sweatdropped.

"I dunno, doc says he'll be fine, but he refused to say what he did to him. He could've blended his brain into slushie for all I know." IF shrugged.

'I see little difference with his usual self really…' Histoire snidely thought.

"Anyway, Gear and Histoire, Medic wants both of you on the training grounds. With the Spectator software." Said the Guild agent.

"Robot noises!"

"What would Medic want from me?" Histoire muttered with a confused frown, but she did as she was told and took the laptop with the specified software to the training grounds.

* * *

"Ow! Ow…" Nepgear groaned in pain. The Basilicom staff was kind enough to escort her and her friends back to her room. Nisa and Falcom, who were unfortunate enough to not have any bionic enhancements and weren't used to the mercenaries' level of training, had to be carried there.

The reason Medic called all of them was because he was interested in the reason why Nepgear had a heart attack during the fight with the Viral Ancient Dragon. His experiment to find out why involved having them fight bare-handed with Heavy Weapons Guy while the German, Soldier and Histoire watched.

To be perfectly honest? It was a disaster… Everyone could get an idea how strong he was just from a look, but no one but Medic and Soldier knew that Heavy was once a professional wrestler and boxer on top of his raw strength. IF and Nepgear swore to never fight against Heavy again… They could take on any other mercenary anytime but not the Heavy. He was a nightmare, strong enough to overpower all kinds of defenses, and without Sasha the Russian was surprisingly fast on his feet. There was a point where during the fight the Russian juggled them! Literally!

Histoire couldn't help but wince when Heavy finished his juggling by throwing them into the bullseyes placed all over the area to practice archery and marksmanship. That surely had to hurt a lot.

"That was the harshest and most painful training I have ever participated in. Ahh~ Thank you kind worker." The Basilicom worker placed the sore heroine down on a chair in Nepgear/Neptune's room. The bluenette thanked the kind Basilicom worker and got herself comfortable on the furniture, trying to endure her pain from the countless bruises across her body.

"My bruises have bruises!" Compa tearfully complained, slamming her body onto the soft bunk bed, bottom bunk to be more specific.

"I never thought I'd say this, but I miss training with Soldier…" Nepgear collapsed on the same bunk bed, next to Compa.

"Beep, boop!" Soldier randomly commented, alerting them of his presence. He had followed the girls and workers here for no reason in particular.

"You're here, Soldier!?" IF (who's lying on Neptune's favorite gaming sofa) snapped, before her eyes widened.

"I am a robot! I am programmed to give you a sensible haircut!"

Somehow the patriot got his hands on a pair of scissors, which he opened and closed while slowly approaching the Guild agent. Snip, snip. "Wha- No! Soldier!" The Guild agent desperately struggled against the mercenary to keep him away from her hair. Quickly the Basilicom staff tried to aid the brunette but Soldier was too strong for regular mortals!

"Blarp-a-barp! Your hair is mine! Give it to me!"

"No!"

"Yes! I'm going to give you a haircut, and you're going to like it!"

"Noooooooooooo!"

The struggle intensified, and with IF's friends being too sore to help her, they were forced to uselessly watch as the robot cut down IF's hair strand by strand.

* * *

"Medic, do you mind if I ask you something irrelevant to what you're doing?" Histoire suddenly asked.

"Vhat is it?"

"You have several guns that can heal any kind of wounds in a matter of seconds, technology to make people literally immortal and you're able to bring them back from death in seconds too."

"And? Frau Histoire?" Medic asked, not knowing where Histoire is going.

"Yet I have noticed that the Demoman is still missing one of his eyes. Don't you think you could give him another eye back?" The fairy frowned. A man of his knowledge, with feats such as bringing people back from death, can't grow a single eye back?

"Oh, of course I could. Zhe procedure is quite simple really." Medic casually said, his eyes not leaving Nepgear's medical report printed from the spectator's software.

"Oh, I see- Wait what?" Histoire blinked. He could? And it'd be easy!? "Then why haven't you done it? I recall he wasn't happy with only one eye, surely he's asked you to heal him before?" She frowned in confusion.

To her surprise the doctor snickered. "Frau Histoire, I have given him his eye back at least eight times." Medic finally dragged his eyes away from the report and looked at the wide-eyed Oracle. "And every time it functions normally until a Full Moon or Halloween, at which point it grows vings and attacks us." The german added, his eyes starring ahead in a thousand-yard stare. "We have several times fought giant flying eyeballs vhich can teleport and shoot rockets."

Histoire looked at him in confusion. 'An eyeball, with wings?' Histoire can't help but mentally picture a small eyeball creature with bird-like wings trying to attack Medic by poking him with its pupil. A quite silly picture, even if she knew the reality was… a bit less cute.

"Anyvay, I think I understand our problem now." The German interrupted his story to announce, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"You know why Nepgear died back then?" Histoire raised her eyebrows.

"Vell, zhis is only a theory, but zhis HDD is very exhausting for zhe CPUs, yes?" Medic waited for Histoire to confirm it, and she silently nodded and waited for the mercenary to move on with his explanation. "Well, my theory is zhat Nepgear's body, her heart specifically, is too weak to keep up when she's gravely injured, resulting in total heart failure."

Histoire stared at the German in shock. If what he said is right then that means every time Nepgear goes HDD it's basically certain death for her! "But then how can we fix it? Should we remove the bionic upgrades?"

"Oh ho ho ho, no." Medic immediately disagreed. "Zhat vould make our problem worse. Besides zhey're stuck there permanently, I can't remove them now. Zhere are two options ve could do; zuerst, heal her with zhe Medi-Gun every time her heart stops. Zhis should force her heart to start beating again and make her able to keep fighting. Zweite, exercise. Zhe only reason why it's happening is because her body is too weak to handle zhe augmented HDD, but with enough training she should be eventually fine and less heart-attack prone."

'So a healthy lifestyle and constant medical watch.' Histoire mentally noted. "Will it work?" She questioned. Safety of her CPUs are her priority afterall, she needs every bit of information she can get.

"Vell I'm not completely sure, but it can't hurt, can it?" The german smiled. "We should also inform Nepgear of zhis, do you know where she is?"

Histoire briefly considered Medic's question. "The Basilicom staff should've escorted her back to her room, I could lead you there." The fairy summoned her book and rode on it, as Histoire nodded for Medic to follow her and the both of them left the office.

* * *

When the Oracle and Medic entered Neptune's and Nepgear's room, the first thing they saw was Soldier playing tug-of-war with everyone else in the room. The item they're fighting for is actually IF who tearfully clutched her head. On the floor Histoire could see several patches of brown hair.

"What… is happening here?" Histoire hissed. The girls and Basilicom staff let go of IF. Soldier didn't expect this and fell onto his back, with IF falling on top of him and instantly scarpering back before the crazed patriot could grip again the remains of her hair.

"I was programmed to give people sensible haircuts." Soldier admitted in robot-like voice.

"You cut off my hair!" IF yelled, trying to cover her ruined hair, there were even bald patches!

Medic sighed and adjusted his glasses. "I think zhis is quite enough." The German clapped 2 times, walked over to the 'robot'…

"Shutting down…"

…and casually broke his neck.

The sickening snap silenced everyone. Soldier's body fell limp on the floor before being consumed by the Re:Spawn System. The most confused and terrified were Nisa and Falcom of course, being their first time seeing this team's Medic killing his own teammate.

"W-What have you done!? He may have been insane but he didn't deserve death!" Nisa yelled, pointing at Medic. She's too tired and sore to do much more but it got her point across. However the German simply scoffed.

"He isn't dead. Vell he is, but he'll respawn in a few seconds. With his entire brain intact this time."

The sudden reveal shocked everyone (except Compa, who Medic revealed the information to during the lesson), even Nisa couldn't form any sort of rebuttal to this. "…Does that mean you operated on his brain, Medic?" Histoire once again took up the responsibility of questioning the mercenaries.

Doctor nodded with a smirk. "Ja! I scooped out part of his brain so he'd believe he's actually a robot." The German finally explained, going as far as to pull out a small jar filled with water with a small pinkish piece of meat floating inside.

Everyone (except Compa) blanched upon the sight of the brain piece, the color draining from their faces even while Medic hid the small jar and pulled out the Amputator instead. "Anyway, let me fix your hair." He said as he brought the weapon up to his shoulder, leaned on his right foot, and played a Medicating Melody, treating the saw like a violin while holding an invisible bow. As he played the tune (somehow even emitting a soothing melody from the saw), everyone around him started emitting a red glow around their feet.

Suddenly everyone felt their fatigue and wounds disappear! Even IF's hair quickly grew back to how it was before!

Falcom started to stretch, suddenly feeling great. "I have no idea how you did it, but thanks! I feel great!" She cheered. And here she thought Compa saving Nisa was amazing enough, this was on a whole new level! He simultaneously managed to heal an entire group in seconds! Healing spells with area-of-effect are available to only the best of the best healers, and the Medic managed to heal faster than any kind of healing spell she's encountered so far!

In short: He earned her respect.

"With zhat dealt with, Nepgear, zhere is something you need to know."

Medic and Histoire explained the German's theory to the CPU Candidate, as well as how to prevent it from happening again. Everyone else also listened carefully, absorbing the information like sponges, especially her two best friends.

"I see, so that was it." Nepgear closed her eyes, sorting out the information. "But will daily exercise really help prevent it?" She questioned, not really sure if something so simple could prevent something so major like a total heart failure.

"Either way, this is something really dangerous. Maybe you shouldn't use HDD at all, Gear?" IF suggested, but the CPU Candidate simply shook her head.

"No, I need it to save Neptune." She said firmly. "I'll try anything that'll help. After all, with Soldier's daily training and going out to raise Planeptune's shares, it's not that big a change." The lilac-haired girl scratched her cheek.

"That was all. I'm going back to my office now. You girls are free to stay for the night if you would like." Histoire smiled and left the room with Medic in tow.

After the Oracle left the room. Compa suddenly pulled everyone into a group hug. "Aww~! We can have a sleepover! Just the 5 of us!" The busty nurse chirped, completely ignoring the poor group of Basilicom staff. Her suggestion was quickly agreed with everyone, though it resulted with her embrace quickly broken.

"I'll make the tea and cookies!" Nepgear jogged towards the kitchen.

"I'll turn on the game console!" IF retrieved a few random games and turned on said thing.

"We will clean the floor!" The Basilicom workers suddenly pulled out brooms and started sweeping off the strands of hair scattered on the floor.

"I'll set up the furniture!" Falcom started moving the chairs and sofa closer to the TV, with Nisa aiding her.

"And I shall lend you a hand!"

* * *

With all preparations ready, the 5 heroines played some video games on the Planeptune's signature console. Well, technically 4 because that's the limit of the console but they do constantly switch over.

This was the most fun Nepgear's had in a long time. Sure it's been a long while since she played video games, so there weren't many matches she won when playing games like 4 Goddesses Online (Goodness, her old profile's still there!), but the amount of fun she had made it all up by a huge margin.

Nepgear felt… safe. Truly safe for the first time in a long time.

Surrounded by close friends, with very strong allies watching a little further away, the CPU Candidate let all her worries briefly disappear as she pressed the buttons on her controller. She lost… Nisa playing as Green Heart beat her with her superior range over her Purple Heart.

But that's okay.

Passing the controller to Compa, the amethyst eyes spectated another match starting, with IF as Black Heart avenging the CPU Candidate. The Guild agent chuckled when Nisa's avatar was immediately 'killed' by getting thrown outside of the map. The brunette and lilac-haired girl subtly fist bumped and Nisa with a smile on her face passed her controller to Nepgear.

If only for this night, Nepgear felt happy, forgetting all the hardships of real life and simply focusing all her attention on blocking Falcom's (playing as White Heart) barrage of attacks.

One day, nights like this will become the rule again, not the exception. Just like they used to be. Together, they'll make sure of it.

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Beep Beep Boop! Robots And Haircuts**

* * *

Fun Fact: It took me two days to write this chapter. And that's adding few hours of choosing between 'Catch-up'-style of chapter filled with more information over this. To be honest I'm more satisfied with this one.

Crazy huh? Well the MB will turn this chapter into even better one.

Responses:

\- Piggyslayer1235

Nah… I figured out how I'll do it. You just wait.

\- BreadNotDead

Yup, death and more death is what awaits on her path. But as you said with the type of insanity the mercs are causing, she won't be able to think too much on it.

Yes the talk with Engineer was a nice touch, he also played a big part in shaping her mindset on death. Now her fear of death is considerably dulled out, and she'll be even more eager to throw her life away if it means getting little bit closer to saving Neptune or protecting her friends.

\- Lady Vroom Vroom

Yes the Re:Spawn Timer was bullshited too, but the 33 seconds actually have a reason.

The Re:Spawn System works in waves, with each wave usually coming regularly every 10 seconds, but these numbers varies basing on the team and amount of held capture points. The team who's attacking (BLU in Attack/Defense or Payload) or is holding more control points in 5CP and KotH have shorter respawn time than those defending/having less CPs.

The reason why Nepgear's timer was so big is because she's a CPU, and as one of my rebalancing ideas she have increased respawn time. That's because she's much more complex than normal human, the Re:Spawn machine needs to not only fix the organs usual for humans, but also the hardware in charge of HDD. That takes additional time.

As for the soundtracks, I find boss themes/fight themes working for me. The few things I can recommend are:

Metal Gear Rising:

\- The Only Thing I Know for Real

\- The Hot Wind Blowing

\- Rules of Nature

\- A Soul Can't Be Cut

Hyperdimension Neptunia:

\- Dancing Girl

\- Scamper

\- Uranus

\- Encounter of Destiny

Killing Floor:

\- Abandon All

\- Abandon All (End of the Line mix)

I hope you enjoy them.

\- Harmless Orange


	15. Distributing Death like a Death Merchant

**Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Distributing Death like a Death Merchant**

* * *

"Does everyone remember our plan?" Spy asked, loading his Ambassador and pocketing spare bullets.

"Well duh! We've been preparing this for a week. Only a dumbass would forget it!" Scout answered, tightly tying his shoes.

It's been a week since the failed assassination on Histoire, as well the fated battle between Nepgear's team with the Viral Ancient Dragon.

Nepgear and her friends spent this time doing Guild quests and helping townspeople, getting as many shares as they could in general. She, IF and Compa were fortunate enough to not die again. The CPU Candidate also adopted a new daily morning exercise regimen, though she never felt any difference after them; each time Nepgear went HDD and got her butt kicked to the point of near-unconsciousness, the lilac-haired girl's HDD would still turn itself off, followed by the expected heart failure…

Fortunately, Compa was nearby to save her each time with the Quick Fix.

Their movement wasn't unnoticed by the ASIC, but there was little they could do with the mercenaries escorting them, and Nepgear being much stronger than before didn't make any attack attempts easier. And to hammer the final nail into the coffin, the rest of the team rampaged through their facilities day after day, giving the ASIC far more to worry about than launching any offensives.

It was in the news so many times, "Today's mass murder happened in…" the news reporters would start with before going on about the slaughter of the day. There were always no survivors, and the Guild members investigating the incidents could never find anything pointing to the mercs' escape routes or their identities. Spy always made sure to stay behind and destroy any evidence pointing at them.

Today would be slightly different. The CPU Candidate and her friends will join the mercs in today's mission, with Histoire providing support via the N-Gear and Spectator software. The Oracle was also busy during said time, with the usual paperwork and researching the Mascot's location. So far she's found nothing.

Everyone (except the fairy) were currently preparing for the fight in the Resupply Room. Nisa was warming up by punching Soldier's waiting palms, with the patriot giving his feedback. IF and Falcom were sharpening their respective weapons. Compa and Medic were doing final checks on their equipment. Nepgear was psyching herself up.

She's hunted plenty of monsters, but she's never deliberately hurt another person before… That might change soon.

Demolition Man was having a whispered conversation with the malevolent spirit residing inside the Eyelander while drinking cheap toothwash, because, you know, it contains alcohol. Sniper was pulling the bowstring of his Huntsman, a hardwood recurve bow held together with black tape; the leather quiver was also on his back, the 'Huntsman's Essentials'.

Engineer built the Dispenser and began upgrading it; the Texan could bring only 1 building with him, so he opted for something more valuable for him and his team. Pyromaniac occasionally helped him by passing the random junk he used to upgrade. Lastly the Heavy polished his Tomislav, an oversized, heavily modified Thompson SMG turned minigun with two handles, a cylindrical ammo drum connected to its underside, and a carrying sling hanging from the drum to the hand-guard.

"D'accord." Spy said in French. "Scout, recount our plan. Correctly." The spook hid his revolver in his expensive suit.

"What?" The Bostonian looked at his teammate with wide eyes.

"Tell us. Our plan." Spy repeated slowly. Even though he had a mask covering his face, his eyes told the young merc: 'Don't fuck with me…'

Scout racked his little brain filled with toxic, radioactive substance, scratching his temple as he tried to remember even a small part of what the spook literally beat into him. After a few moments of silence…

"You forgot, didn't you…" IF deadpanned.

"Sh, sh, sh." Scout shooed, raising his index finger. Then he snapped his fingers, recalling the plan. "We sneak up on them, shoot everyone to death, and then we get out. With everyone bein' not knowin' what happen!" He said with a smile, proud of himself.

…

…

…

…Unfortunately, the ankle-biter recalled the wrong plan…

Spy sighed in disappointment, facepalming like he does in the Humiliation Phase after a loss. Raising his face a little, the Frenchie glanced at the brunette Guild agent. "IF, if you please."

To be honest, IF kinda saw it coming. Placing the sharpening stone on the bench next to her, she cleared her throat. "After we all get into the facility via Engie's teleporter, which I'm not sure how you even managed to build there in the first place." Spy and Engie shared a look and smug smirks. IF continued on.

"The plan consists of 2 phases, for the first one we'll divide into 2 groups. The mercenaries will act as a distraction and lead away most of the security, while the Engineer will build his Sentry Gun and prevent anyone from escaping the building and calling reinforcements. Thanks to the blueprints Spy found we know that the Security room is located on the 3rd floor. Anyway, 2 minutes after the mercenaries leave our starting point, Me, Compa, Nisa, Falcom and Gear will head towards the archives, which is on the 4th floor, take all the intel we can find there, anything about Mascots, CFWs, plans, secrets… basically anything useful. Histoire will keep both groups updated on each other's status and if anything happens, she'll delay the Guild and ASIC's response." IF took a deep breath and continued on.

"After we get the intel and escape via Engie's teleporter, the mercs will move on to the second phase. Which is… uhh… taking care of any survivors…" The Guild agent sweatdropped.

Spy lightly applauded after IF finished going about their plan. At least one of them is reliable. "Well done!" He praised. "And how will mademoiselle Falcom and Nisa escape? Won't our comrade's buildings target them?" He questioned.

"That's easy! Engineer and Medic made special bangles for them. As long as they have them they won't be targeted by the Sentry Guns."

To demonstrate, Falcom raised her hand, brandishing her bangle. It's a simple donut-like wristlet made from red plastic with two logos on it: a white and red rectangle with a bomb on it and the words RED written on the bomb, and an orange circle with a crosshair in the middle. These are the Reliable Excavation Demolition and Team Fortress logos respectively.

"Amazing, Iffy! You memorized everything perfectly!" Compa beamed, amazed by her friend who shrugged with a light blush.

"I-It's not that big a deal, it's not that complex and we had a whole week to learn it." She shrugged off the praise. Scout hmph'ed jealously, looking away with his arms crossed.

"Testing, testing. Can you hear me?" Suddenly Histoire's face appeared on IF's N-Gear's screen. Its owner responded with a "Loud and clear, Histoire. Are you ready?"

"Actually I have a small problem with the Spectator software. It says I'm unauthorized to see Scout's footage." The Oracle frowned.

The Spectator software requires the person's consent to receive data from their Re:Spawn System. It could be overridden if a person with high administrator rights like Helen the Administrator logged in but the Planeptune's Oracle didn't have the authority to do that, nor the mercenaries.

"…Oh." The merc in question scratched his cheek awkwardly. "C-Could you request it again? I accidently declined it." Scout sheepishly smiled. After a few clicks and pressing keys a small box with text saying that someone is requesting access for receiving the data from his Re:Spawn Chip, appeared in his peripheral vision. "Sent." Histoire said.

He thought 'Yes.' 3 times to accept. "Accepted." The merc responded.

The Planeptune's Oracle stayed silent for few seconds, checking if he really accepted the request. "Okay, I'm ready on my side." The fairy said after confirming the connection.

"Excellent, Engineer. Place the Teleporter, please." Spy asked with a smile.

"Comin' right up."

Engineer, who finished upgrading the Dispenser, placed another toolbox in the middle of the room and began whacking it with his Golden Wrench for faster construction. "Seriously, how did you manage to place a teleporter inside that building?" IF asked, looking at Spy.

* * *

"Howdy." The Texan greeted the ASIC grunt. The mercenary didn't bother to change his appearance at all! He even had his class emblem clearly visible to the guard, who held his palm up to stop him.

"What do you want? Can't you see this is ASIC property?" He growled, nudging his sheathed machete to try and intimidate the mercenary. It didn't work of course.

"Stand down, boy. I heard y'all have some practical problems with somethin' broken. Came here to fix that." Engie shrugged, smiling casually.

The guard evaluated him up and down with his narrowed eyes. "Wait for a bit, 'kay?" He eventually said before pulling out his phone and dialing someone. "Hey, was that electrician supposed to arrive today?" A muffled voice was heard on the other side, with the guard listening patiently and occasionally glancing back at the waiting Engineer and responding with "Yeah."

After the phone conversation ended, the guard became much more friendly and relaxed. "I'm sorry, we're just a little on edge with all these attacks over the recent days." He apologized, scratching his neck awkwardly.

"I understand, partner. So, mind showing me where it's broken?"

"Of course, I'll guide you to the Security Room, the breakers short-circuited but every time our electrician fixed it, it short-circuited again a few minutes later." The guard explained, opening the doors leading to the 5-story building. "Really annoying since our cameras need to reset every time we turn the main power back on, takes a while." The guard added.

The 'electrician' utilized the famous technique of Smile and Nod as the guard kept blabbering about the problem while leading him to the Security Room.

* * *

Engineer smiled knowingly. It was his first time being on the French side of the barricade… it was actually pretty easy to do his part, with Spy handling the rest.

With the teleporter activated, the girls tensed up. It's time. "Good luck!" Histoire said, crossing her fingers off-screen, hoping that the whole thing will go smoothly.

"Skill always beats luck." Sniper responded, glancing at the screen.

Heavy was first to take the teleporter. He literally jumped onto the spinning teleporter, spinning up the Tomislav midair. "Rise and shine, Svetlana! Time to crush eety-beety-teeny babies!" The Russian grinned wickedly as he teleported. The atmosphere turned from tense to awkward...

Everyone waited for Histoire's verdict. Is it safe? Or will the Russian come back to his team through the Re:Spawn System?

…

…

…

"Only one person was nearby, Heavy quickly…took care of him." A tone paler Histoire awkwardly announced after the brief pause, grimacing upon the sight of the violent, brutal and surprisingly clean takedown.

With the coast clear, it didn't take long for the rest of the team to regroup with the Russian.

The exit of the teleporter was located inside the small male restroom. It was a typical restroom, a tight corridor with 4 white stalls, each of them unlocked with a dirty toilet inside. At the far end of the room 2 urinals were attached to the wall. The floor and walls were made out of the same white porcelain tile, the ceiling was just concrete painted white. The room was illuminated by a sole window above the urinals and LED lamps attached to the ceiling.

On the opposite side of the urinals and partially opened doors led the way to the next section of the rest room. A small square-shaped room with 3 sinks, another window, rolls of gray 1-layered paper standing on the windowsill and another LED lamp on the ceiling.

Heavy stood over the sink to the right, Tomislav placed against the wall, the Russian washing his hands of the blood from the unfortunate guy who was unlucky enough to have been there. His entire head was painfully shoved inside his torso through the neck. Surprisingly, there was little to no blood nor gore, but the sight of it was still very disturbing.

If it wasn't for Nepgear catching her, Falcom (who was the last to take the teleporter) would have fallen onto the floor. "No matter how many times I take that teleporter, I can't get used to it. Thanks Nepgear." After regaining her balance, the adventurer thanked the CPU Candidate.

"You're welcome."

"Ugh, the smell… You couldn't pick a better place, like the storage?" IF grimaced, using her hand to pinch her nose. Compa also couldn't stand the smell of the male's restroom.

"Ngh… Just lemme open the window." With tears in her eyes, Compa reached for the window's handle and opened it, letting the much fresher air inside.

Engie rolled his eyes. "Buckle it up, girl. There are worse smells than that."

"It feels weird, being inside the male's restroom." Nisa commented, looking around the room. Eventually her gaze landed on the Pyro. "So 2 minutes, right?"

"Mhm." It nodded.

"Ten-hut!" Soldier yelled, pointing his 'Liberty Launcher' (An army green rocket launcher with tan wooden handles, a leaf sight adorned with a white U.S. Army insignia, and a cracked wooden shoulder-rest with a wire frame exhaust port) at the exit.

At his command everyone fell silent, and the Engineer destroyed the exit using the Destruction PDA and picked up the remains. The rest of the mercs lined up in order to rush out of the bathroom, which reminded them of all the last few seconds before every match.

They could almost hear the Administrator's voice in their heads.

" _Spare_ no one! Gut them like _fattened_ hogs!"

Spy's left hand shot up, his index, middle and ring fingers doing the 3 number. 3 seconds…

He lowered his ring finger. 2 seconds…

The middle finger went down as well. 1 second left…

The moment Spy lowered the last finger, the Heavy Weapons Guy rammed the doors with his Tomislav and rushed out of the restroom, his entire team following him with a mighty battle cry.

"Kill 'em aall!"

"Last one alive, lock the door!"

"Heil, us!"

"Let's waste 'em!"

Even though Engineer slammed the doors shut with his foot, the gunfire, explosions and cries of agony were very audible to the girls.

Compa started to feel bad for the ASIC crossing their path…

It was about that time Nepgear finally found the corpse of the poor guy who got killed by Heavy. She may have cheated death once, but dying herself was very different from seeing a dead body, especially one so gruesomely killed, and she grew pale and felt sick in her stomach. Nisa offered a small, silent prayer for the lost soul. "Even if they're all criminals, not everyone deserves death. Justice should be served in variable doses, depending on their crimes. The ultimate punishment should be given only to the most savage criminals." The heroine said, a bit saddened.

"I understand Nisa, but desperate times call for desperate measures…" IF walked up and placed a comforting hand on the heroine's shoulder.

Suddenly through the sounds of warfare, the girls heard the alarms going off, with a female voice shouting through the speakers. "Emergency! A heavily armed group is rampaging inside the facility! I repeat, a heavily armed group is rampaging inside the facility! This isn't a drill!"

"It looks like they noticed." Nepgear said.

"I'd be surprised if they didn't, it's not exactly quiet…" IF sighed. It's the warehouses all over again, except this time she's also actively participating in it, along with her friends.

* * *

The mercenaries smoothly progressed through the corridors of the ASIC facility, leaving a clear trail of dead bodies and blood behind. The ASIC grunts left almost no resistance against the destructive force of 8 of the best mercenaries in the world.

The walls of the hallway were once painted a pleasant shade of blue, with a creamy-white ceiling. The floor was also white but near the walls it changed into deep blue. Fluorescent lights illuminated the hallway and the walls were filled with metallic retractable doors, which occasionally an ASIC grunt popped out of to check the commotion.

Demoman used his Chargin' Targe (an antique, blood-stained wooden shield with a painted yellow cross and reinforced by an iron rim with bolts and a deadly center spike) to charge at a surprised ASIC grunt with a thundering scream before decapitating the individual with the Eyelander in a single critical horizontal slash.

Histoire immediately switched to a different person as the severed head fell onto the floor. "Head…" The Eyelander muttered; suddenly the Demolition Man's eyepatch shone green, a sign that the sword's spirit had granted the wielder a small speed and health buff.

Suddenly the alarm went off, with a female voice shouting from the speakers. "Emergency! A heavily armed group is rampaging inside the facility! I repeat, a heavily armed group is rampaging inside the facility! This isn't a drill!"

Pyro chuckled and kicked the nearby doors open. Two men inside were eating lunch. Their heads snapped in the Pyromaniac's direction…

And that was the only thing they managed to do before Pyro made them happier by spraying rainbows all around them. Their cries of joy pleased the Firebug, and it decided to treat them with a giant lollipop as an added reward. Both kids loved it so Pyro left them alone, waving to them as it left.

Of course, in reality, both men were screaming in agony from the blistering flames. In panic one of them tried to roll onto the floor to put them out, still screaming loudly as the flames beautifully danced on their skin, eating away their cloth and hair while they could do nothing but pathetically wriggle and scream.

That wasn't the end of their suffering though, oh no. Pyro soon replaced its flamethrower for a fire axe; the merc stomped hard onto the wriggling man's stomach to keep him in place, before bringing down the hatchet into his shoulder. The metal easily penetrated the skin and flesh, but it couldn't penetrate the bone. It did however intensify the victim's screams and panic.

The fire alarm was soon activated and the sprinklers rained down water to extinguish the fires inside. It was too little too late for the fires on the grunt's flesh…

Meanwhile, Pyro ignored both his cries and the water, casually taking out its fire axe as it moved onto the next target. Again stomping the stomach, the firebug raised its axe; this time however, the Pyromaniac switched the sides and brought the spiked end down into his left cheek, severing his tongue, breaking his jaw, teeth and cracking his skull. Unfortunately for him, the force of the blow didn't break his neck. If it did his suffering would've been cut short.

With the deed done, Pyro left the room, leaving two incapacitated ASIC grunts to death. The sprinklers finally managed to extinguish the flames, but the damage was done, and without medical help, both of them were doomed to die slowly in pain.

Histoire, who had made the unfortunate decision of switching to Pyro's point of view, blanched and swallowed the bile rising up to her mouth. 'Nepgear and IF won't be the only ones with PTSD at this rate…' She thought, deciding it's best to stick with the girls' footage and spend the bare minimum of time looking through the mercenaries' eyes. Or at least not Pyro's. With its usual amicable behavior outside of combat, she'd almost forgotten the masked being was the one thing even the other mercenaries feared, if the Meet The Team videos were to be believed…

* * *

IF checked the time on her phone; 2 minutes have already passed and they could only barely hear the gunfire anymore. "It's time." The Guild agent announced, hiding her phone in her pouch attached to her belt. "Let's go." The brunette reluctantly placed her hand onto the door's handle. She's afraid of what's hiding behind them.

To her relief, Nepgear stopped her. "W-Wait a sec!" The CPU Candidate said as a bright light engulfed her. The light soon died down, revealing Nepgear in her HDD form, 'Purple' Sister. "Processor unit, complete. Let's move out!"

IF lightly nodded, gathered all her courage and quickly opened the surprisingly sturdy doors, her emerald eyes closing tight. With nothing immediately attacking her, her right eyelids slowly separated and revealed…

A perfectly clean wall of the hallway…

However the smell became so much worse it made the male restroom smell like a bouquet of flowers.

Closing her nose again and releasing a sigh of relief she didn't know she was holding, the Guild agent waved the others to follow as well. "Hey, Histoire. Where are we actually?" IF asked, looking at her N-Gear.

"According to the blueprints Spy provided, you should be in the east wing on the 3rd floor. The *ahem* safest path to the archives should be on the right to the restroom, then turning right at the T shaped crossroad, and go straight to the staircase." The fairy directed, her small finger running over the blueprints.

Somehow IF gets exactly what Histoire meant by the 'safest'…

Out of curiosity, Nisa glanced to the left.

What she saw was a hallway full of blood and severed and/or burnt limbs and organs, with corpses that were lucky to be more-or-less intact, so mangled that it's impossible to deduce what happened to them, much less what killed them.

Immediately turning away with wide eyes, the heroine of justice proceeded to push everyone away from the aftermath of the mercenaries' slaughter. "O-Oracle Histoire is right. R-Right, right is the wise choice." She stuttered.

Judging by the smell, no one questioned it…

They walked in silence, alert in case of anyone ambushing them. The coppery smell of blood gradually died down as the girls distanced themselves from it. The sounds of gunfire also became quieter, but they were still very audible.

Eventually the girls arrived at the T-shaped crossroad, they could either turn left or go straight ahead and then forced to go right. "Histoire said to go straight, right?" Nepgear looked back at the group. IF and Falcom shook their heads.

"Nope, she said right." IF pointed her thumb at the right way.

"Going straight will eventually lead you to where the mercenaries are heading. However there's a room marked 'Armory' in that direction as well. It would be help the mercenaries if we somehow prevent the ASIC from accessing that room." Histoire suggested. Nepgear briefly considered it, same with Falcom and IF…

"I think they'll be fine, but let's still do it. In case the ASIC have really heavy weapon-." IF was cut off by the sounds of footsteps. Suddenly 4 ASIC grunts rushed out from behind the corner. They were little different from normal grunts, over their clothing were thick gray armor with Avenir's logo on their back and ASIC's logo on the chest. 3 of them wielded Lastation-made automatic shotguns while the last one, a female, held an assault rifle.

"Intruder!" She yelled, pointing her rifle at IF. The group unsheathed their weapons and stood in standoff. They're at a disadvantage in range and firepower, but Nepgear and IF were overhealed, so they could shrug off some bullets.

"I-Is that the CPU Candidate?" A male asked, stuttering.

"I-I think so, she looks different though." His teammate answered.

"Didn't Nepgear somehow change her look?" The last one commented.

"W-We don't want to hurt you! Just drop your weapons! Please?" Nepgear demanded, trying to be confident. It didn't work.

"Like we'd believe that! Drop our weapons, for what? So you can slaughter us like in all those other facilities? You can't fool me that easily, bitch…" The woman growled, moving her gun so the barrel points at Nepgear's face. "Fire!" She yelled.

"Watch out!"

With her eyes closed, IF jumped in front of the CPU Candidate while an orchestra of gunfire filled the air! Nisa, Falcom and Nepgear covered their faces.

Reluctantly opening her eyes, the Guild agent saw a red transparent wall of energy in front of them, maintained by Compa's Quick Fix. On the other side the ASIC grunt's eyes widened, all of them frozen in surprise.

"W-What? How did you…?"

"Surprise~!" Compa chirped, feeling proud that she managed to save all her friends thanks to Mister Medic's lessons.

"Phew~. Nice save, Compa." Falcom thumbed up to the nurse. The Electro-Shield suddenly collapsed, the Quick-Fix having spent its charge and must be again re-charged in order to make a new one.

"You've saved our lives once more. My gratitude to you, Compa!" Nisa gave her savior a grateful nod before turning back towards the ASIC grunts. "Now it's time to deliver justice!" The heroine lowered herself, preparing a Justice Kick.

Before she could do that however, a white-pink-red blur shot past her. It turned out to be Nepgear who made a beeline towards the female grunt, faster than a speeding bullet. The CPU Candidate batted away grunt's assault rifle with her gun blade before using the blunt side of her weapon to deliver a solid blow to the side of her head. Her helmet protected her head, but the force still knocked the grunt off her feet, whirling in the air before dropping onto the floor face-first, unconscious but alive.

The grunts yelped, startled by the CPU's speed. One of them aimed his shotgun at Nepgear, but immediately got a faceful of Justice Kick from Nisa! The heroine saluted the CPU Candidate as she stood over his unconscious body.

IF used her Winger to jump and wrap her legs around another grunt's neck. The grunt grabbed her lower limbs and tried to break himself free, but the Guild agent leaned back and with one swift motion, slammed him onto the floor. The grunt groaned in pain as IF removed his helmet and hit his neck, knocking him out as well.

The last grunt standing tried to run, but Falcom tripped him with her sword. Placing her foot onto his back she mustered all her strength into a single hit of the hilt into the back of his head.

With the group taken care of, the girls relaxed. "What are we going to do with them?" Falcom asked, sheathing her sword into the violin case.

"None of us have what it takes to kill them… umm… Tie them up somewhere then hand them over to the Guild? But then they'd know we're involved…" IF pondered.

"Just leave the bodies to me, you all just get to the archives."

The girls' heads snapped back in the direction they came from; Spy was casually standing there with a cigarette in his mouth. "Spy? What are you doing here!?" Nepgear asked, eyes wide with surprise.

"Standing here, smoking a cigarette, can't you see?" He answered snidely.

IF sighed at his sarcasm, but there's no time to argue. "Anyway, there's an armory up ahead. It might be good to seal the doors off." The brunette pointed at the path straight ahead.

"I see. I'll take care of it." The Frenchie knocked the ash out of his death stick and crouched next to the nearest grunt. "Hmm… out cold." Spy stood up and noticed that the girls haven't moved yet. "What are you waiting for? Move!" He shooed them away.

Reluctantly the girls resumed their journey towards their objective. After a few steps though, Nisa suddenly stopped (the others noticed and stopped as well) and turned back towards the Frenchie…

Who had already disappeared, and all the once unconscious ASIC grunts were dead with their throats slit open…

The heroine of justice grit her teeth and clenched her hands into fists in anger. She tried to keep her righteous fury in check but failed and ended up punching the nearest wall, spooking everyone as they watched the bluenette.

"Are you alright, Nisa?" Compa asked with concern.

"It's injustice…" Was all Nisa muttered…

Over the past week, Nisa tried to convince herself that it's all for the better. That the ASIC are the bad guys who need to be stopped, she really tried. It helped that the news and mercenaries were vague on what really happened inside the raided ASIC bases.

She managed to delude herself that everyone died there because the mercenaries killed them in self-defense. A kill-or-be-killed situation…

But now, after witnessing it firsthand, she can't help but feel like they're much bigger villains than the ASIC. Misguided as they were, the ASIC agents were still people with dreams, families, futures; they were criminals that needed to be stopped and punished, but they didn't deserve death. The mercenaries don't care about any of that though, all they care for are their own pockets, ending human lives just because it's convenient, or even because it's fun for them. Dealing out death like some sort of Death Merchants.

Compa noticed Nisa's tear-stained face, and the busty nurse embraced the heroine in a comforting hug. "There, there." She muttered, lightly patting Nisa's back for good measure.

IF, Nepgear and Falcom shared a troubled look. They know the reason why their friend began crying, but they don't know how to really comfort her.

They were helpless… just like Nisa… but instead of her, who wanted to bring justice and fair judgment to everyone, they were helpless to cheer up a friend.

The bluenette realized that her eyes were leaking, and hurriedly the heroine wiped them off with her gloves. "Better?" Compa asked when the blonde noticed that she stopped crying.

Nisa simply broke the hug, sniffed and quietly nodded. "Let's just go… I need to calm down a little."

Fortunately her friends didn't say a word, turning their back towards her as they began slowly walking towards the archives again.

Histoire felt like this was a good time to give them a little privacy. Bracing herself for the horrors that she's about to see, the Oracle switched the point of view in the Spectator software.

* * *

Heavy's Svetlana rained lead hell upon the ASIC grunts. Each and every one of them had to take cover behind a corner or go back inside one of the rooms, unless they wish to get turned into mincemeat.

To their relief. Heavy again ran out of ammo, and instead of gunfire a clicking sound filled the air. "Ughh…" Russian groaned. First against CFW Judge and now here… The mercenary abandoned the weapon and punched his fists. "Get behind me, doctor!" He ordered.

The armored ASIC grunts chuckled mockingly and rushed out of cover, immediately starting to fire at the mercenary duo. This proved to be useless at best, thanks to Medic deploying the Electro-Shield. The transparent barrier disintegrated all the bullets without fail, until a grenade suddenly bounced across the hallway. Fortunately it landed close to the shield so Medic was able to destroy it as well before it blows up.

The duo rushed towards the closest grunt, the Electro-Shield allowing the human target to pass without any sort of trouble. Heavy grabbed him by the throat and raised him off the ground, the grunt futilely struggling against Heavy's iron grip while his comrades tried to help him but couldn't thanks to the shield…

Suddenly the grunt's stomach growled… He hasn't eaten anything today.

Heavy and Medic stared blankly at him. Well that was awkward… But an idea popped into the Russian's head.

Switching hands so that his left hand was choking his enemy, the mercenary pulled out a Sandvich. Heavy grinned with raised eyebrows as he asked, "Hungry?" The ASIC grunt awkwardly nodded as his answer.

The bald giant took a bite of his delicious Sandvich, nomming in front of the grunt's face. "That vas delicious!" He cheerfully announced, turning his eyes. "Now is your turn. Say 'aaaaah'!"

Then Heavy shoved his bitten lunch into his mouth, forcing it far down his throat and making sure that it goes into his lungs instead of his stomach. The grunt's comrades watched in horror as he convulsed and choked, his body trying as hard as it could to get the invading object out, but Heavy had none of it and pushed further, his enormous strength pushing through the canal with little resistance. The toothpick scratched roughly against his insides even, drawing blood.

"Heavy?" Medic said, standing on his toes to look over Russian shoulder, his face showed disappointment but the Russian couldn't deduce what pissed him off.

"What?" He asked confusedly. Medic simply pointed his index finger on what's in front of them.

Heavy peeked over the dying grunt, and his eyes slightly widened from what he saw.

7 armored ASIC grunts lined up in rows of 3, with the sole one standing at the side. The back row pointed their assault rifles at the mercenaries while the front row slowly advanced towards them with swords out. The remaining 1 grunt had a red cross emblem similar to Medic's on his biceps. The Electro-Shield was already gone, so the ASIC grunts were free to attack them at will.

Heavy awkwardly chuckled and dropped the grunt. He was so occupied that he didn't notice the reinforcements… "Hit charge!" He cracked his knuckles and yelled.

Yeah… Histoire definitely won't be sleeping tonight. Deciding it's enough brutality for now the fairy switched the footage again.

* * *

The girls stood in front of the doors to the archives. The metallic doors had an electronic lock preventing them from accessing the room, unless they had the right keycard. Above said lock is attached a plaque with the words 'The Archives' written on it.

"Well… We're here. Now how do we get in?" IF scratched her hair. So close and yet so far… all because of the electronic lock.

"Can't we force them open?" Compa asked, trying to force the doors open with her hands. The doors didn't budge an inch no matter how hard she tried.

"That kind of door was specifically designed to resist heavy assaults. With security this tight, we can be certain that something of value is kept here." Histoire stated through the N-Gear, wondering how they could bypass such doors without a security card… Maybe try to hack the lock?

"Jeez, what exactly is this building used for?" IF snapped angrily.

"According to the intel Maxie provided. It is one of the ASIC administration centers in Haneda City, hence the tight security. It is one of the buildings where everything is managed, recorded and plans for the future are created." Histoire calmly explained, IF nodded in understanding.

"Can't we just call in the mercs? I figure Spy could hack the lock, or Demoman can just blow it open." Falcom suggested with a shrug, but Histoire sighed as she replied.

"I guess they could, but all of them are quite occupied at the moment."

"Hey Histoire… About those mercenaries." Nisa began, looking at the digital face of the Planeptune's Oracle. "Why did you hire them? Those criminals, _murderers_." The heroine growled out venomously the last bit. She is desperate for a sound reason on why Planeptune hired people like them.

Everyone fell silent and looked at her; Histoire had to choose her words carefully or Nisa may snap. "Because…" The Oracle began, thinking twice about what she's about to say. "We can't afford to do anything else, not without Neptune. You've seen how strong and versatile they are, Nisa. We need them if we're going to stand against the ASIC."

"And Nepgear can't stand up to them? She's a CPU afterall, with the same enhancements as them!" Nisa angrily cut the Oracle off, pointing at Nepgear.

"I'm only a candidate…" The CPU in question corrected with a whisper.

"Nisa…" Compa muttered, saddened to see her friends fighting.

"With the respawn system under their control, it doesn't matter how many times she defeats them because they'll just keep coming back. There was also the possibility of them joining the ASIC against us instead. We had no choice but to hire them first… to protect the innocent and free the goddesses." Histoire reasoned.

Nisa took a few deep breaths to calm herself down, letting the information sink in. To protect the innocent and free the goddesses… a valid reason she searched for.

But…

"How? How would hiring those killers protect anyone?" The heroine asked. Her mind was in conflict; How could hiring people like them to kill everyone in sight possibly protect innocents?

"Most of the mercenaries, mercenaries in general, don't care about anything but money. They'll do anything to earn as much as they can. I hired them to help us defeat the ASIC and free the goddess, but harming any civilians will be met with severe penalties on their paycheck. Because of that, they will think twice before harming anyone outside of the ASIC." The fairy explained.

"I see… It all comes down to money, huh?" Nisa muttered, looking at the floor. "I understand, Oracle Histoire." The heroine raised her head and looked at Compa.

"I'm sorry for breaking my promise, Compa. But I cannot stand this injustice. I quit."

Compa recoiled in shock. "H-Huh!?"

Nepgear's eyes widened upon realization that she's losing her new friend as well. "Nisa! W-Where are you going!?" She asked, reaching out to her.

"There's nothing we can do to convince you to stay, right?" IF crossed her arms.

"Well, I can understand where you're coming from… It's been nice knowing you no matter what. Will we see each other again at least?" Falcom asked.

"No, IF. I need to leave. I can see the reason in Histoire's words but I still can't stand the sight of them murdering everyone in their path. I'm sorry, so much for me helping you out after you saved my life… I'll try to stay in contact, after I try to forget the horrors of today… Good bye." The heroine turned her back towards them, and slowly started walking towards the staircase.

"Nisa, please… don't leave." Nepgear begged, her voice breaking… Even though the CPU Candidate's known her for only a week, the heroine was still her dear friend. The bluenette briefly stopped and turned her head to the side.

"Please know I bear no ill will towards you, Nepgear, towards any of you. I wish you luck in your quest… Just please. Keep those… mercenaries in check. Do not let them harm anyone innocent." With those last words, Nisa disappeared, leaving the party. She made sure to not let them see her tearstained face…

Perhaps if not for the mercenaries, she could stay by Nepgear's side until the end...

However under current circumstances it's just not possible…

The rest of the girls stood in silence, in grief for losing their friend. The sounds of warfare were the only thing they could hear.

Histoire, thinking it's better if they moved on, cleared her throat. "We should figure out how to open those doors."

Still looking at where her friend once stood, Nepgear nodded. "Yeah… let's do that."

"Soo… any ideas?" Falcom asked with a forced smile.

"How about this?" Spy answered, leaning against the wall, his left hand holding the security card and right hand carrying Engineer's toolbox. The French mercenary ignored their surprised looks as he swiped the card through the card reader. A light greed diode flashed up and the doors opened. "Shall we?" Spy nodded towards the open room.

"Are you following us or something?" IF raised her eyebrow. "I predicted you'll encounter some trouble, so I thought to assist when necessary." He exhaled some smoke. "By the way, I saw mademoiselle Nisa on my way here. You think she'll be fine alone?" Spy asked. He was oblivious to their talk, so seeing Nisa crying and alone confused him a bit.

"Don't worry. She's the Heroine of Gamindustri after all!" IF grinned, entering the archives.

The archives, as the name implied, was a room filled with lots of cabinets full of documents on the right side of the room. The walls and floor were the same as the hallway other than the purple carpet decorated with gold patterns around the edges covering the floor. A crystal chandelier illuminates the room. An expensive-looking office desk with a chair with comfortable-looking green pillows stood on the left side, with a personal computer atop. Two windows in front of them let the sunlight inside.

It looked more like an office instead of the archives.

"Hmm, how quaint." Spy commented, setting the toolbox in the middle of the room as he started ordering them. "IF, check the terminal. Falcom and I will check the cabinets. Compa, you stay outside and alert us if anyone's coming. Nepgear, deploy the teleporter."

"It's a PC, not a terminal, but ok."

"Roger!"

"Yessy!"

"Huh!?" Nepgear blanched, her order kinda surprised her. Spy sighed, exhaling the cigarette smoke. The spook pointed at her. "You." Then at the toolbox. "Teleporter." Then he produced the Jag (a combination monkey and pipe wrench with a brown taped grip) out of the black hole he's hiding inside his suit and handed it to the CPU Candidate. "Deploy it. Our Engineer showed you how to reconstruct already built buildings." It wasn't a question, but a statement. Spy didn't wait for an answer since the moment Nepgear gripped the wrench the spook started unlocking the locked cabinets with a set of keys.

"You look surprisingly prepared…" IF commented, setting her butt on the chair and booting up the PC. Leanbox's SquareOS loading screen appeared on the monitor.

"I had to make a few trips to the Security Room and Engineer's Sentry Nest. This is why it took me so long to get here." Spy replied, finishing unlocking all cabinets. With everything unlocked the mercenary and red-head adventurer began rifling through the papers.

Nepgear looked at the red toolbox lying on the floor, her gunblade in her right hand and the Jag in her left. The CPU Candidate awkwardly tapped the teleporter twice with her blade; fortunately it worked and the toolbox began to open, revealing the folded teleporter inside. Then she violently whacked the machine with the Jag to speed up the process.

"Ge-Ge, please don't destroy Mister Engineer's teleporter!" Compa exclaimed from the hallways when the lilac-haired girl started hitting that thing pretty harshly.

"Don't worry, Compa! I'm just following the manual." Nepgear answered.

"There's a manual for this?" Falcom asked, turning her head towards the Candidate.

"Mhm. Here." She pulled out said manual from her own hammerspace. It was a thin book with 6 pages. The cover featured a level 1 Sentry Gun on red background with the TF Industries logo in the corner the words and the words:

 **Sentry**

 **Operating Manual**

"I see… that's, um… nice." Falcom sweatdropped. It didn't occur in her mind that there's an actual manual for these buildings. "So what are we taking?" The adventurer asked, turning back to the documents.

"Everything, all we need is to wait for Nepgear to build the teleporter." Spy answered.

Meanwhile a bored IF waited for the PC to boot up. She hated outdated computers because of how long they take to boot up. Especially the SquareOS…

Finally the computer finished booting up and the Guild member was met with…

A bloody login panel.

Of course! Why not!?

Slamming her forehead on the desk, IF let out a defeated sigh. But then something caught her attention, a small scrap of paper that fell onto the floor. The brunette picked it up and read its content.

 **Login: all_hail_the_lolis**

 **Password: hunter2**

IF couldn't help but to sweatdrop. This is too cliché to be true, but she needs to make sure. Dragging the keyboard a bit closer to herself, the brunette agent carefully typed the login and password, triple checking it with the scrap to make sure and then pressing enter.

She's in…

Suckers!

Giggling like a little girl, IF took the USB cable of her N-Gear and connected it to the computer. The desktop was a mess, with lots of folders everywhere. Whoever's in charge, they don't like to clean their workplace… And now here comes another problem…

IF has no idea what to actually search for…

…

…

Take everything?

Why not?

The brunette went to 'My Computer' and to her relief there's only 1 hard drive. Makes it much easier and faster to convert everything into the .7-Nep file and upload it onto her N-Gear. It'll take some time, but that's the only way for IF to take the entire disk with her without rummaging inside the PC.

While the Guild member operated the computer, Nepgear finally managed to get the teleporter going. It took much more time than if Engineer did it, and it's only a level 2 for some reason. But she did it alone! "Teleporter is ready!" The CPU Candidate announced, and Spy's head snapped in her direction. The spook smiled when he saw a functional teleporter instead of broken pieces with a child beating them with the Jag..

Although he could have sworn he took the fully upgraded one…

"Splendid!" Spy took out the entire 'B' drawer from the cabinet and slammed it down onto the spinning machine. The teleporter didn't appear to be damaged in any way from the blow, and it transported the papers without any problem.

"Where does this teleporter lead, anyway?" Nepgear asked, turning off the HDD. She's tired already… both mentally and physically…

"Straight into Madame Histoire's office, and this is also your escape method." Spy answered, taking the 'A' out and repeating the process. Falcom stopped reading through the papers to find the 'valuable information' and simply mimicked Spy, and Nepgear helped as well.

"You don't have to teleport the entire cabinet…" The Oracle deadpanned. Fortunately she doesn't need to carry the drawers around because she has the Basilicom Staff for that.

"It's faster this way, Madame Histoire. IF, how's extracting the data from that terminal?" Spy took out the 'F' drawer.

"It's a PC, not a terminal." IF sighed.

"Whatever, how is it going?" Spy rolled his eyes.

"I'm converting everything into a smaller .7-Nep format so I can download it entirely onto my N-Gear without exceeding its memory." The Guild member answered. Leaving Spy completely confused as he teleported the 'U'.

"I… have no idea what you just said." He admitted.

"It's going fine but it'll take a while." IF deadpanned.

Spy, Falcom and Nepgear eventually managed to transport all the documents from the cabinets. The only thing left was to wait for IF to download the PC's files onto her N-Gear, which took about 30 minutes (which Spy made very clear that he's impatiently waiting for her).

No one came to interrupt them, and eventually Compa began quietly singing to herself as she patiently waited for the others to finish. When they did they took the same teleporter and successfully finished the 1st phase of their first heist against the ASIC.

With information gathered and the girls moved out of the way, the mercenaries could go crazy and obliterate everyone who crosses their path. They never found Nisa during their massacre, she somehow managed to escape from the building without the mercenaries' knowledge.

Where is she? What is she doing or thinking?

They have no idea…

* * *

After their little raid, Histoire and Spy read through the piles of documents. To speed up the process they decided to read through only the recent logs.

Histoire read a report about one ASIC scientist discovering a new material. Apparently it's a metal which is capable of adapting and transforming into different states and forms. According to that scientist, this metal shares similar appearance, such as a similar color and the level of reflectivity and electron configuration to silver. However it has a drawing of a small chibi girl in its nucleus which silver doesn't have.

There isn't an official name for said metal yet, but some ASIC grunts have started calling it "Neptulium" for some reasons.

'Amazing, they found an entirely new element!' Histoire thought with excitement.

As the Oracle kept reading through the entire report, very interested in the newly found metal, Spy pulled out some random receipt he found in CFW Judge's file. Yes for some fucking reason they have an entire file about one of their leaders…

Reading through the scrap of paper, he found that it's dated back to one day after they destroyed him. The mercenary frowned as his eyes scanned through the list. Few nuclear power cells, some sort of Avenir's Anti-Gravity Engine, few tons of titanium, cybernetic limbs, among other weird hardware…

Spy frowned. Why would something like this be inside CFW Judge's file…

Unless…

Spy's eyes widened in realization, and the French spook shoved the receipt into Histoire's vision, his face serious.

"Madame Histoire, we have a problem."

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Distributing Death like a Death Merchant**

* * *

First: Neptulium =/= Neptunium. Neptulium is a metal I made up. What it does and how is it relevant to the plot will be explained in later chapters.

That's some very brutal scenes right there, and with Nisa leaving the party it makes it even more yummy! Initially I planned to make her argue with Spy instead, and them ending up throwing punches. But then it gnawed me that it Spy would easily win due to huge experience and equipment gap.

So yeah, Nisa left, for now atleast. I won't kill her off just now. But she won't appear for quite some time.

Fun Fact: Death Merchant is a highest rank in the TF2 Competitive Mode.

Responses:

\- Piggyslayer1235

Then I guess they'll make him angry, or sad. Or it'll just end up like Heavy's sandvich kill :v

\- Guest

*Whispers* Later…

\- BreadNotDead

Well, when you're able to escape death each time you "die" they you'll end up little reckless. That's why Soldier and Demoman performs explosive jumps :v

Beep-bop-boop! Damnit a lost opportunity! I wonder how would adult IF look with short hair... This'll keep me up at night.

Compa, as a nurse and Neptune's friend, is very patient with high insanity tolerance. She must be very patient or she won't be able to treat injured people for long. Yes I liked that part, I must plan few more scenes like that.

\- Harmless Orange


	16. Practicing Medicine

**Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Practicing Medicine**

* * *

Histoire's dull blue eyes skimmed through the receipt Spy found. She did find it weird but not on the same level as the French spook did. "It is concerning, Spy, but what could it mean?" She asked.

"I found it in CFW Judge's file, take note of the date, it's a day after he destroyed himself." It took all Spy's willpower to resist taking out a cigarette. The French gentleman prefers to not bother the fair maiden and his employer with his smoking habits. Of course, if it was a male or even better, Scout, then he'd try to smoke as much as he could in their presence just to piss them off.

"I see it… but why is it even in CFW Judge's file? Didn't we defeat him?" The fairy couldn't help but to ask.

"We did." Spy agreed. "So the question is, 'What was this receipt doing there?'"

Both of them wracked their brains for an answer. It couldn't be an administration fault, the ASIC wouldn't have such strong grasp on the world without a good administration. Even with the mercenaries killing lots of the ASIC workers on a daily basis it's not enough to put much of a dent in their plans. Same goes for collecting shares, even if the rate significantly increased after IF and Compa rescued Nepgear, they still need a few months before they can make another attempt to go to the Gamindustri Graveyard.

"Do they want to reconstruct CFW Judge?" Histoire wondered aloud. It's a reasonable conclusion, if they could build one Judge they should be able to build another with sufficient resources.

"That's a possibility." Spy agreed, but it could be also two other things.

The ASIC could have planted the receipt there as a trap to divert their attention. However that would mean they knew about their plan to infiltrate that base before it was even executed.

In other words, a spy leaking their intel to the ASIC.

This scenario's already passed through the French spook's head before, but as much as he investigated the ASIC's headquarters and their movements in general, there was no indication of any leaking info. As strange as it was, he's almost certain there aren't any ASIC spies in this Basilicom. Unless they're all sleepers, and really good ones at that.

There's also a possibility that CFW Judge actually survived that explosion. As unlikely as it sounds, Spy can't say there's absolutely no possibility. "Perhaps, but I don't think we have enough evidence to conclude anything. Let's resume our search." The French eventually stated, reading through CFW Judge's file a bit more carefully, but besides learning some trivia and a couple potential weaknesses, there was nothing else proving or disproving any of the theories. Moving onto other files showed similar results. Eventually Histoire asked Spy to go back to infiltrating more ASIC facilities, maybe the Frenchie will learn something new on the enemy's side of the barricade.

Soon as Spy left, the Oracle of Planeptune received a call, the fairy's eyes widening as she saw the caller's number: it was none other than the Lastation's Oracle, Kei, and Histoire's eyes only grew wider when her fellow oracle requested immediate medical assistance from Planeptune for their gravely wounded CPU Candidate…

"W-What!?" The fairy couldn't help but gasp in shock. "Uni?! What happened, is she alright?" She asked with concern. CPU Candidates may be much tougher than normal humans, but they're still far from invincible. Nepgear herself has shown that, and her vitality was already boosted even further than usual with the mercenaries' technology. Still, something that could hurt a Candidate this badly was definitely cause for worry, even if it's on another continent.

"Unfortunately even I don't know the specifics. She's in a hospital right now and all I know is that the wounds she sustained are too severe for any of the doctors here in Lastation to treat properly." Kei answered, his voice level and professional despite the situation. Through the screen of the video phone, Histoire could see his face remained in a perfect poker face, save for a small frown, completely unlike her own wide-eyed shock, and this wasn't even her own Candidate that's in mortal danger. She's wondered before whether the silver-haired young man could even physically emote, but there wasn't time for such thoughts now.

"T-That serious… Did anyone see the attacker? Was it ASIC?"

"We're not sure. All we know was that she was facing a very strong man, and an entire 3-story building collapsed on her."

'A man? Was he a CFW or something? But that doesn't match any of the known CFW's descriptions even remotely…' The fairy thought with intrigue and concern, until her fellow Oracle spoke up again.

"Am I interrupting something?" The Lastation's Oracle asked with a hint of awkwardness. Histoire's desk was currently covered in messily placed documents looted from the ASIC's archives, and it wasn't until then that the fairy noticed how much of a mess her desk had become.

"N-Nothing important, just looking over some files. I was just about done actually."

"I see… Well, about that man I mentioned earlier."

The fairy forced her thoughts about cleaning said mess away. "Yes, I'm listening."

"After defeating Uni, he kidnapped an innocent woman and now seems to be heading towards Planeptune. I've already dispatched a platoon of soldiers to chase him but they were forced to withdraw because they couldn't keep up. At the pace we last saw him, he should be at your borders tomorrow, day after at max."

"T-That fast!? But we have the entire Gamindustri Graveyard between us!"

"I'm surprised as well, but perhaps it's to be expected. Someone who could defeat a CPU Candidate alone can't be an ordinary man."

Even as the alarming news of the dangerous individual racing for her country was revealed, Histoire frowned for a different reason. Something was wrong. She didn't know Kei that well, but she did know he never shares information for free. "You are withholding some information from me, aren't you?" The fairy narrowed her eyes.

A tiny smile appeared on Kei's face. "Good deduction, Histoire. While I don't wish for you to get caught off guard if he does manage to arrive at Planeptune, I still need a bargaining chip for you to help me. I'll happily share all the details about him if you send your best surgeon to Lastation, pronto. The ones we have just aren't enough."

"Is it that bad?" Histoire grimaced.

Instead of answering verbally, Kei sent a picture to Histoire, and the Oracle of Planeptune immediately compared it to what the mercenaries' victims look like, Heavy's in particular.

Usually the HDD'ed version of CPU Candidate of Lastation is a light skinned girl with white hair worn in curled drills while her bangs spike outward and the side parts are shorter and very curled. Her eyes become bright green and her outfit consists of a normal bathing suit-like body piece greatly resembling her dress with more detailing on each part and two big circle pieces worn in her hair.

In this picture she's so mangled that it looks like she was straight up tortured. The photo was taken when the paramedics carried the CPU Candidate on a stretcher to the ambulance.

There isn't a part of her processor that ISN'T cracked, dented or missing altogether. The unprotected parts of her skin are discolored from bruises, or even torn off in few pieces like her armpits and cheek. Her left shoulder is broken, with a bone penetrating the skin.

Her eyes were closed but Histoire could see a forming black eye around her right one, with a faint trail of blood leaking from the eyelid. The nose is broken as well and the slightly open mouth revealed a few missing teeth along with a bleeding lip.

It's a very disturbing sight and there was a strong possibility of internal injuries as well. It was enough for Histoire to make up her mind to send medical help, she could tell Uni was in critical condition, and even if she's the Candidate of a once competing nation, they can't afford to lose her with ASIC running amok. It made sense for Kei to have come to her for help too, Planeptune is known as the leading developer of medical technology due to the invention of Nep Bull, if any nation can save Uni, it's the Land of Purple Progress. Though, a part of her mind considered sending Medic instead of her own personnel, and the more she's thinking about it, the better idea it seems. Considering the man's experience and achievements, this would be a piece of cake for him.

"I do have someone in mind, someone I acquired lately who I could honestly call a miracle worker, but I don't think he would do it for free." The fairy answered. The doctor was a medical genius, but he was by no means altruistic. He'd only agreed to operate on Nepgear because she's their VIP, and Compa got her implants because she's Medic's apprentice. Lastly, IF was allowed to have hers…

Actually Histoire had no idea why, maybe it was just because he's operating on two others already so might as well…

"Nothing is free, Histoire. I'm willing to cover everything that's necessary to treat Uni, including the hefty payment for proper care." Kei dismissively waved her hand. It's their own Candidate's life on the line afterall, they can't be stingy with money.

"In that case, would you mind waiting for a moment? I need to ask him in person since he doesn't accept any phone calls." Histoire asked, her usual small smile appearing on her face.

"How long will it take? I have already sent our private jet, it should be in your airspace in about an hour." Kei checked her cell phone and hid it back in her pocket after sending her A-OK to the pilots. She certainly came prepared, Histoire thought to herself.

"Not very long, up to a quarter of an hour." The fairy copied the victim's photo into her phone as she said that.

"Go on then. But you'd better hurry, Uni won't last long. I'll be in contact if necessary." Kei disconnected, leaving the Oracle of Planeptune alone. She hovered out of the room, leaving it as it is, and took the nearest teleporter leading to the mercenaries' hotel.

The reception hadn't changed from how she remembered it, except the smell. For some reason it smelled funny there, but she couldn't tell why. The now-activated level 3 Sentry Gun surveyed the area (thankfully the Engineer's bracelet seems to be working), quiet beep sounds coming out of the turret. Mildly clean beige floor, a kiddie pool with Pyro inside, opened jerry can, light-brown tables…

Wait…

Histoire's dull blue eyes refocused on the fire-loving being…

Yes indeed, Pyro is sitting cross-legged inside a red kiddie pool, it was even filled with water and included a rubber bonus duck which the merc was playing with.

'Where did that "bonus" part came from?' Histoire wondered. Her mind has been playing tricks on her lately…

Anyway. The Pyromaniac seemed to notice the staring fairy as it raised its head and waved in greeting, mumbling something. Histoire thinks it's "Hi, Histoire!" or something along these lines. Either way the Oracle greeted the merc with a small wave of her own. "Hello Pyro. Um… are you enjoying your… bath?" She couldn't help but to sweatdrop as she asked that, but it did sound polite nonetheless.

"Mhm." Pyro nodded as it stepped out of the pool and pointed at Histoire, before pointing back at the pool. Histoire knew what it was asking and she's ready to politely decline out of 3 reasons:

She doesn't need a bath right now.

She needs to find Medic really quickly.

And the most important reason was…

She finally recognized the smell after she saw the jerry can…

That's not water. **At all.**

"N-No thank you Pyro, I just took a bath and don't need another one." For a moment Histoire thought the mask-wearing being might not take no for an answer, she needed to make a 'practical' excuse, fast. "Actually I came here looking for Medic, is he around?" She quickly tried to change topic to save herself, and it worked. Pyro tapped the mouth of its mask in thought before nodding and mumbling.

"Uh-huh."

At the same time, it produced a box of matches labeled "RED Spark Safety Matches" from its pocket and lit one. Histoire watched Pyro awkwardly as it stared at the dancing flame with childish curiosity…

Before throwing it over its shoulder with a giggle…

Histoire's eyes grew to the size of fairy-sized dinner plates as the match landed right inside the gasoline-filled pool and the spooked Oracle was forced to hover a little higher to avoid being caught on fire by the sudden explosion and ring of fire spreading across the floor.

To her amazement though, nothing caught on fire, and the kiddie pool and opened jerry can mysteriously disappeared in a poof of smoke and fire.

The Pyromaniac simply rubbed its hands together like nothing happened and led the way towards Medic…

Who was standing right at the stairs, armed with the Crusader's Crossbow (A wooden crossbow that fires special nanite syringes). Compa and Sniper were there too, also armed with her usual giant syringe and a modified MAT-49 submachine gun, with oversized sights and no folding stock, respectively. Since their lesson was nearing its end, the doors to the medical bay were open, allowing Medic and Compa to hear the explosion. Sniper's pleasant nap in the hallway was also rudely interrupted by the sudden kaboom.

"Wot happened?" The Australian asked, lowering his SMG.

"Do we have a burglar?" Compa asked and peeked over Sniper's shoulder, spotting the Oracle as she did so. "Oh hi Histoire!"

"Ahahaha… Hello Compa." Histoire awkwardly greeted and went on with the explanation.

As the tiny fairy explained the cause of the sudden explosion, which was louder than normal which was why the mercs reacted at all (this made Histoire think that this might happen all the time, almost unsurprisingly at this point). Sniper angrily groaned and went back upstairs, mad that he was woken up by a false alarm.

After explaining what happened with Pyro, Histoire moved onto what she went there to do, telling them the details of the assault on Lastation's CPU Candidate and their Oracle's request. A curious Pyro stayed in the reception area and continued to listen to their employer.

"Lastation's CPU Candidate got hurt?" Compa asked worriedly.

"Lahhamhon?" Pyro mumbled, however as always the fiery merc was ignored.

"Lastvation?" Medic raised his eyebrow.

"Lastation is a nation east from Planeptune. Some call it the 'Land of Black Regality', and like our own nation, it is protected by a CPU and a CPU Candidate, Black Heart Noire and Black Sister Uni. The latter has been governing the nation since Noire was captured by ASIC, and she's a very valuable ally of ours against them." Histoire explained as she pulled out her phone and searched for the downloaded picture of the injured Uni. "Here, could you look at this?" Histoire showed him her phone with Black Sister's picture shown on the screen. The German muttered under his breath the names of injuries as his eyes inspected her body.

That sounded wrong…

"Vat's the story behind zhis?" Medic questioned.

"I don't have all the details, but a building collapsed on her during a fight with a powerful criminal." Histoire truthfully answered, increasing Compa's worry for the injured CPU Candidate.

"Zah loouh pahfh." Pyro noted.

"Is she okay?" The Nurse did hear that Lastation and Lowee got their own candidates during these 3 years, but the busty Nurse was too busy collecting shares to know any details on what's happening outside Planeptune.

"Due to the severity of her wounds, none of Lastation's doctors are able to treat her properly." Histoire explained.

"Hmm, zhey don't look zhat bad, nothing these 'qualified' doctors can't handle. But if zhe building collapsed then zhere are probably internal injuries involved as well." Medic stated, spitting 'qualified' like it's some sort of venom. "Herr Kei offers to cover all expenses and pay me for treatment, ja?" The German continued, his eyes not leaving the screen. To be honest the mad doctor couldn't care less about the money right now, if he got another chance to get his hands on another CPU he'll gladly take it. For science!

"That's right, Kei already sent a private plane to pick you up, it should arrive in about 50 minutes. I'll send the staff to drive you and Compa to the airport."

"Gut. Compa, help me pack our supplies." Medic gave back the phone to the Oracle and went upstairs as Compa followed him with a very cheerful "Yessy!"

With his agreement, Histoire released a very relieved sigh she didn't know she was holding, and the blonde fairy phoned some Basilicom staff to pick up Medic and the Nurse-in-training before following them to the medical bay.

Everyone forgot about poor Pyro who was left alone to play with its matches.

* * *

"What the-!?" Histoire squawked in shock. The doors to Medic's room were open and what she saw there horrified her.

Like in Meet the Medic, Medic's playground was occupied by countless pigeons, a few of which cooed at the Oracle when she entered the room. She was pretty sure this was not sanitary conditions fit for a medical bay, but neither the doctor nor his apprentice seemed to care. Medic was busy getting the Quick Fix off the ceiling and Compa collected a few other medical and not-medical supplies like scalpels, a bonesaw, the Overdose, duct tape, bandages and band aids, which she hid into her black hole (purse).

The award of the most eye-catching thing in the room though goes to the unconscious Demoman with the gaping hole in his stomach being healed by the Kritzkreig. A bottle of scrumpy and some blood-stained poker chips lay on the tray next to him.

Curious about the state of the Scot merc and remembering the last time she surprised Engineer, Histoire cleared her throat to announce her presence. "Medic, what happened to Demoman?" Even if the question was directed at the German, it was the Planeptunian Nurse who answered.

"Mister Demoman and Mister Soldier played poker, but suddenly Demoman swallowed some chips after getting drunk."

"Hah! Got ye full house…" The patient in question muttered in his sleep.

"Will he be okay?" Histoire already knew the answer is yes, but she couldn't help but ask.

"Ja, ve're already done getting the chips out of him. Herr Soldier will come later to pick and clean zhem up." Medic answered.

"I see. I already called for transport to the airport, one of the trusted Basilicom chauffeurs will take you there."

"Umm, Medic? Are we taking Spy's head as well?" Compa suddenly asked, confusing the fairy while Medic pondered the question.

"What, Spy's head?" Histoire questioned.

"Remember that Meet the Team video?"

"No, no, no, no no no no no no no no no no no. Please don't remind me of that…" A pale Histoire immediately regretted asking that question, oh god the memories…

Trying to again forget those traumatizing videos, the Oracle of Planeptune quickly hovered out of the room, closing the doors while she's at it.

Compa and Medic watched her go, both of them sharing a confused look until Medic shrugged before going back to packing. "So, are we?" Compa asked the same question, at which Medic shook his head.

"Nein, he stays here. Give him a few new cigarettes though."

Compa emitted a disappointed "Aww…" before opening a bag of death sticks and refilling the severed head's supply. BLU Spy muttered a depressed "Kill me." When the Nurse opened the refrigerator.

"I can't." She rejected him, before the closing door returned the head's world to darkness.

* * *

On Histoire's way out, she unfortunately decided to bug Sniper a little. Even though the fairy was a distance away from him, the half-asleep Australian still managed to throw his kukri at her with perfect accuracy. Fortunately the Oracle expected some kind of attack and managed to evade the blade before she lost her head.

"Watcha want, pixie?" The merc groggily asked, yawning and rubbing his eyes behind the sunglasses. For god's sake, a proper bloke can't get some shut-eye without everyone waking him up.

"I'm sorry for interrupting your nap, Sniper, but could you inform your team that Medic and Compa are going to be absent for a while?" The fairy politely asked, internally sighing with relief that she didn't just get impaled.

"Okay, okay." The Australian half-heartedly responded and went back to sleep. It was the same tone Neptune always used to answer with as she played games with Nepgear. Until he processed what she just said anyway. "Wait, wot!?" A fully awake Sniper squealed in surprise, getting up and starring at the blonde fairy with wide eyes.

"The CPU Candidate of Lastation was severely injured and Medic agreed to treat her, so they're going to be away." Histoire calmly explained, seeing it coming. It's amazing how there are so many similarities to them and Neptune.

Except Neptune would never kill anyone…

"But we kinda NEED doc for attackin'! Pushin' dry will just get us killed!" Sniper argued, but Histoire wouldn't falter, even if there's a sharp machete stuck in the wall just inches from her.

"I understand your reasons, but the CPU Candidate's health is far more urgent than attacking the ASIC right now. They won't be gone for long, so until then we'll put our assaults on hold."

The proper CPU can't be killed with normal means. They're literally immortal towards regular weapons, which is why Neptune is needed to truly control these mercs. In case of them going rogue a transformed CPU could easily dispatch them, even with their Medic's technology.

However the CPU Candidates don't have such luxury. They're still stronger and regenerate faster than humans, but unlike the proper goddesses, candidates CAN be killed, as shown by Nepgear's demise at the hands of the Viral Ancient Dragon…

Thank Goddess that the Re:Spawn System managed to bring her back…

Currently Nepgear could take on 1, maybe 2 of the weaker mercenaries like Sniper and Medic (provided that the German didn't use his Medi-gun on Sniper) and barely win, but fighting against a powerhouse like Soldier or Heavy would be certain death, much less the entire team. They need a proper CPU back soon, and to that end they can't afford to lose a Candidate neither.

"Got it, I'll handle the boys but how long will it take?" Sniper asked, walking towards the Oracle and retrieving his kukri with little difficulty.

"I'm not actually sure, her wounds looked severe, but with the medigun I doubt they'll be gone for more than a day or two." Histoire answered after brief consideration, and the Australian nodded in understanding, politely excusing himself and started knocking on the Scout's doors.

Satisfied that the mercenaries won't be caught off-guard by their Medic's absence, Histoire went back to the Basilicom via Engineer's teleporter. Then she called Kei back after closing the doors to her office.

"Hello again, Histoire. I take it that grown man with the young girl are those people you mentioned?" Kei said after accepting Histoire's call. "This is rather peculiar equipment they're carrying there." He added, his voice hinting intrigue.

"Yes, that's the man I was talking about, and the girl is his apprentice. You'll be surprised by his effectiveness, but don't be shocked by his… questionable ethics." The fairy explained, sweatdropping.

"Questionable ethics? Elaborate." Histoire's words peaked the Lastation's Oracle interest and some concern. However a teasing smile presented itself on the fairy's lips in turn.

"Only after you tell me about that dangerous individual." She wryly proposed, causing Kei to smirk knowingly. Well, she did promise her.

"While he was seen inside one of the ASIC buildings, there aren't any evidence of him being one of them…" The two Oracles moved onto a long discussion about the individual. They speculated the roads he's traveling, reasons on kidnapping the seemingly random woman and everything Kei managed to gather about him.

* * *

The moment Medic and Compa arrived at the airport, a group of people looking like soldiers clad in black clothing neared their car. Compa saw Medic tense a little and subtly started reaching for the Über-saw, but Compa stopped him from grabbing his weapon by placing her hand on his wrist. "Don't worry, they're Lastation's Basilicom guard." She reassured.

The Planeptunian Basilicom staff left the Nepsla Model S car and two of them opened the doors so Medic and Compa could leave the car like very important government figures.

It's not actually that far from the truth. Compa is a known close friend of a CPU, CPU Candidate, Oracle and a high-ranked Guild member, and while Medic isn't as well known as the girl, he's the only person who's achieved saving people from literal death.

"Our VIPs?" One of the Lastation guards spoke, presumably a leader because he's the only one to wear a beret.

"Affirmative, hand-picked by Lady Histoire." One of the Planeptunian Basilicom staff.

"Roger that." The leader nodded. Onlookers were starting to show up, and even a few flashes snapped from their phones' cameras. The staff and Medic ignored them however, only Compa gave the onlookers a small wave as they entered the airport. The Lastation guards carried their suitcases and bags, leaving only the Medi-gun and Quick-Fix with Medic and Compa respectively. The German didn't want anyone except his trusted apprentice touching his fragile inventions.

The flight was peaceful, Medic was used to traveling by air. During his job as Redmond Mann's mercenary they sometimes needed to travel from facility to facility by the plane, so it was nothing new. However his Planeptunian companion was rather excited, due to it being her first time airborne. "This is my first time on a plane!" The nurse exclaimed as her creamy-pink eyes stared at the scenery from the window.

"I'm rather used to it." Medic sat next to her. Compa dragged her gaze away from the glass and looked at her teacher in surprise.

"Really?"

"Ja, but nothing as fancy as zhis." The Lastation's Oracle had made sure to equip the Basilicom's private planes with everything a first-class needs, and while the merc has plenty of experience flying, he's never felt such comfort before when traveling at all.

Before Compa could ask, suddenly a monitor lowered itself from the ceiling, catching the attention of the duo. The monitor switched on and Kei's face looked at them.

"Welcome aboard our Lastation-made jet, used privately by the Basilicom, and thank you for lending your help to us. My name is Kei, I'm the Oracle of this beautiful nation." The Oracle greeted, looking at the Medic through the tiny camera lens attached to the top of the casing.

"It's no biggie, mister Kei." Compa beamed, though for some reason Kei seemed to be a little offended.

"Excuse me, miss. But that's 'Lady' you should refer me to as, I'm a girl afterall." Kei deadpanned, to the nurse's surprise.

"Anyvay." Medic began, not caring about the Oracle's gender, "If I got zhe facts correct, then zhe CPU Candidate of Lastation is critically injured?"

"That's right." Kei nodded. "In addition to external wounds, the doctors said Uni also suffered lots of internals injures as well."

"So as I predicted." 'Zhis shouldn't be too hard, just put her bones together und heal zhe rest with zhe Medi-gun.' The German planned.

"It is quite rude to not give your names if someone introduces themselves to you." Kei pointed out, still keeping her poker face.

"Ah, excuse me. People call me 'Medic'."

"And I'm Compa, just a simple Nurse-in-training."

The Lastation's Oracle mentally noted their names, getting a little confused on the German's name. Just a title, or is it his real name? Well, as long as she has something to call him by. "With that out of the way, I assume you wish to discuss your payment if you manage to save Uni." Kei said knowingly, but the Medic had different things on his mind.

"Actually, I vish to know more about zhe patient's injures first."

A brief pause, and Kei pulled out the recently-made medical report. The Oracle cleared her throat and began reading the paper. "187 out of 206 bones shattered, cracked or broken, including her skull and many of her organs punctured. A gash on her heart caused by her rib…" With each new wound read along Kei starts to worry more and more about Uni's health, goodness most of these wounds sound permanent! However Kei still managed to keep her business-like façade as she kept reading while trying to keep her voice even.

Compa felt bad for the Candidate, what she's suffering is way worse than what she, Ge-Ge and IF went through. Sure the three of them actually died outright, but their deaths weren't anywhere as brutal as this! But she still trusted Medic to save the Candidate with his skills and experience, and she'll be there to help!

Meanwhile Medic changed this operation difficulty from 'Piece of Cake' to 'Mildly Complex'. With so many damaged bones they can't rely purely on the Medi-gun and they're forced to do surgery, which Medic planned to do either way. Good thing Compa brought the duct tape.

Either way, bones are the only difficulty, however all they need to do is to adjust them correctly, then the Medi-gun will accelerate their healing and fix all the minor problems. Damaged organs, blood in inappropriate places, torn skin, all of that can be easily healed automatically.

Such wonderful technology.

Only after hearing all of the injuries the Candidate sustained did Medic move onto the payment.

Kei didn't have time for haggling, so she simply wrote off the rounded yearly salary of average doctors and multiplied it by 2, which turned into a sweet 200'000 credits for a single operation. Compa's never seen anyone earning that much money in a single night, but if you count 1 credit as equivalent to 1 dollar then this is quite poor payment for Medic's standard. He agreed anyway, since he can have his hands on another CPU. For science!

After a few minutes of pleasant flight, filled with occasional idle talk or silence, the Re:Spawn Chips sent a sudden and short wave of pain through their bodies. It confused the Planeptuneian and with growing panic she asked. "W-What was tha-"

"Don't die now, Compa." Medic calmly warned before she could finish, though the warning only intensified Compa's confusion.

"Huh? Am I gonna die?"

"Nein, ve're simply out of zhe respawn's reach. If ve die ve will stay dead until someone manually moves our bodies back to Planeptune." The merc ominously explained, keeping his voice level. This however was enough to calm down his apprentice.

* * *

After their discussion was over, Kei let Compa and 'Medic' enjoy the rest of the flight alone. Lastation's Oracle sighed, got up and looked through the window at Uni.

The Lastation's Candidate has transformed back since reaching the hospital, now she has long black hair with most of it reaching her chest, her crimson red eyes still looks pained even when the gas mixture inhaled through the breathing tube put her to sleep. An IV syringe sends necessary nutrients directly into the bloodstream. She's wearing nothing but there's a gray blanket covering her that can be opened around her abdomen area. There aren't any casts put in place yet, too many bones are still not put in place to do that. An average surgeon can't do it without risking excessive bloodloss.

Kei put her hand on the glass, starring at Uni's broken form. About 20 minutes till that doctor arrives… "Don't die, Uni. Noire would never forgive us if you do." Kei muttered, watching Uni's broken body rest on the surgery table. The Oracle of Lastation notified the Lastation Guards standing next to the doors that she's taking a short trip to the bathroom. This whole time Kei was in the hospital, waiting for doctors to bring her good news.

She didn't get any.

Irritation began creeping into her mind. They were supposed to be Lastation's doctors, the best in the field. But all of them told her that they tried their best.

If they did, Uni would be peacefully resting on the hospital's bed and Kei wouldn't need to ask Histoire for help.

Lastation's Oracle holds nothing against Planeptune or their Oracle. However she dislikes Neptune, to her the CPU is just a spoiled, irresponsible and lazy troublemaker. She pitied Histoire for having to put up with that nonsense on a daily basis. But there's no way in hell she'll ever say something like that out loud. Lazy or not, Neptune's still a goddess who deserves her respect.

The boyish girl slapped her cheeks and looked at her reflection in the mirror.

She's a short girl with pale skin and silver hair that looks like a mess. Her eyes are a bright aqua blue color and she wears a near-formal black suit with silver lining with many buttons and shorts, instead of jeans or pants. Two long tails come from the jacket and have blue coloring inside. Under her black suit is a white button-up shirt and light blue necktie, the collar having symmetrical black linings. Below she wears black high socks with white detailing, and slip-on black shoes with small blue and silver detailing on the top.

Kei pulled out a comb from her jacket and combed her hair to make it more presentable, she doesn't know how it got so messy in the first place but it's good that she noticed it before meeting the 'Medic' in person.

Where do people gets these overused nicknames?

As Kei made sure that she doesn't look like some sort of depressing mess, the government official heard voices right outside the bathroom.

"…Are you sure you're qualified for this job?" The voice that she recognized as one of the hospital' doctors questioned. His voice sounded serious.

"More qualified zhan you 'professionals' who can't do a simple surgery." A male voice mockingly remarked. Kei recognized the thick accent as 'Medic's' one she heard in the plane. Huh? Seems like Kei took much longer than expected.

"Do you MOCK me? You don't even have a medical license!" An upset doctor shouted, causing Kei to frown. With all that happened there was no time to perform a background check, but no medical license? Did Histoire just backstab her?

"Sir, please back away." Another male calmly responded.

"P-Please don't fight. We should be helping the injured people here!" A meek young female voice added.

Before this argument could go any further, Kei opened the doors and 8 figures turned their heads towards her: A male doctor, two female nurses, 3 Basilicom staff members with 2 of them carrying suitcases and bags, and the last one standing between Medic and the Lastation doctor, Compa, with that weird backpack and pipe she saw on her phone. There's also the 'Medic', wearing a different backpack, labcoat, glasses and red rubber gloves.

Seeing them up close, the so-called 'Medi-gun' and 'Quick-Fix' are really peculiar-looking equipment…

Upon seeing her employer and de-facto vice-leader of their nations, the Basilicom Staff slightly bowed to her. "Lady Kei, these are the people that Lady Histoire have sent to aid us." They said in unison. Medic and Compa shared a confused look by their synchronization.

The doctor however angrily walked past Medic and angrily but politely addressed his complaints. "Lady Kei, are you sure this is a good idea? They don't even have medical licenses!"

Kei did start to have her doubts, since Histoire warned her about his 'questionable ethics' and the fact that they don't have a license. However Kei was getting desperate and Histoire isn't the type to backstab a person during such an emergency.

"I have already heard that while I was in the bathroom, however this man was handpicked by the Oracle of Planeptune, so you better watch your tongue." She firmly stated. "You can go now, doctor, you too, nurses." She dismissed them before the man could form a rebuttal. Even if she wore a pokerface, her glare told him that she doesn't have time to argue.

"Yes Lady Kei." He said without enthusiasm and left, glaring at Medic as he walked away.

After the Lastation's staff left, Medic casually greeted the Lastation's Oracle as if nothing happened. "Guten Tag, Frau Kei."

As much it confused what the goddess he just said, Kei ignored it and hurried the doctor up before Compa could also greet her. "I apologize for being pushy, but you two should hurry up and save Uni. I'll lead the way." The boyish girl moved past the group. The Basilicom Staff followed her without skipping a beat, same with Medic. Only Compa took a short moment before moving along.

* * *

As Medic predicted, the room Uni is lying is as sanitary as it could. Boring white walls and ceiling with window which onlookers can see what's going on through the hallway and a boring gray tile floor. Compa can even see defibrillator pads attached to the wall.

Light blue curtains could be moved to cover the window and grant Medic some privacy and a few drawers in the corner of the room with more unknown-to-author medical equipment. A very modern operation table with Uni lying on top, the CPU Candidate is attached to the electrocardiogram, breathing tube and IV bag. The ECG shows that Uni's heart beat was weakened significantly. Next to the table is a silver cart with wheels on which various surgery equipment was placed.

"There she is." Said Kei as she let Medic and Compa into the room. The Lastation guards stationed next to doors glared at the German and Planeptuneian as they entered.

Medic took note of his newest test subj- patient, spotting a few postoperative scars. "I wasn't zhe first one to try, vas I?" He turned towards the Oracle, who shook her head.

"She already went through 2 other surgeries led by the same doctor you just talked. He managed to fix most of the wounds but there are still a few critical ones like a gashed heart, punctured lungs and stomach. He says it's impossible to remove the invading bones without risking severe bloodloss, drowning or leaking the acid into the body." Kei explained, her voice business like.

"Mister Medic, I don't know where to set the Medi-gun." Compa said worriedly as she inspected the surroundings for any way to keep the healing weapon pointed at Uni without risk of damaging something.

However Doc didn't see any problem with that. "You'll just have to operate it manually then." He shrugged.

"About that 'Medi-gun', however." Kei pointed at the thing in question. "What does it do?"

"They can h-"

"Zhis will makes sure the patient von't die in case of trouble." Medic cut Compa off. No point in revealing its true power just yet.

"Uh-huh. How does it work?" The Oracle questioned with an eyebrow raised.

"Trade secret. Now do you mind, I vish to start working on our fräulein." Medic shooed away, as he handed said Medi-Gun to Compa. Kei was confused what he meant by 'fräulein' but she still nodded.

"Good luck. I want to hear good news after you're done." Was all Kei said before leaving the room to wait at the hallway.

Medic moved the curtains, giving himself and Compa some privacy. They're operating on a girl afterall. "Let's see let's see." The German rubbed his hands together and opened Uni's blanket, revealing her nude abdomen and chest. 'Zhe bruises are still zhere, same with zhe scars. B cups… she's smaller than I remember. Must be the HDD wearing off.' The German noted, running his gloved hand over one of the bruises. The CPU Candidate's face stirred from touch. Something occurred to him and he turned towards his apprentice, looking up and down. He just noticed that she's also freakishly small.

"Huh? Something wrong?" An oblivious-to-everything Compa asked.

"Nothing. Let's begin with low input." Medic took a scalpel from the tray and started doing first cuts, for some reason penetrating her skin felt pleasant.

Wait…

"Compa." Medic began, turning towards his assistant. "You are healing ME." He deadpanned.

Awkwardly the Nurse-in-training looked few times between Medic, the Medi-gun's beam and the unconscious Uni…

"Oopsie." She smiled sheepishly and corrected the weapon.

All Medic could do now was to sigh tiredly and open the chest cavity, and then be genuinely surprised by the state of her ribs. 'It appears zhat zhis will require a little creativity, but I do like a challenge.' "Compa, have you brought zhe duct tape?"

What happened next is another proof that you can fix everything with enough duct tape. After casually removed the invading bones from organs, which were later patched up by the Medi-gun's beam. The Mad Doctor then proceeded to glue the retrieved ribs together with duct tape, before placing them back into the patient's body again.

If any of the hospital staff saw this, they would immediately stop the operation and send Medic into the nearest mental asylum, possibly the one where the author is currently residing.

If Kei saw this, she would probably order the Lastation guard to execute Medic on the spot.

However they aren't there, so Medic can do whatever he wants.

With the help of the almighty duct tape, it was relatively easy to play puzzle with Uni's skeleton. And any injures made on her tissue was taken care of by the Medi-gun.

Technically Medic could wrap things up, collect the payment from Kei and go back to Planeptune.

But he wouldn't be himself if he didn't check one last thing.

Like Nepgear, there is also a processor attached to Uni's heart. This time however it's blackish instead purple, and the motherboard is also black.

Never more had Medic wished he had a free set of his bionic enhancements. He wasted the last 3 of them to enhance Nepgear, Compa and IF, but now he had a chance to expand his knowledge on Nepgear's ailment.

If he had the damn implants!

Sighing his irritation off, the German took the Quick-Fix, deployed the Übercharge and wrapped things up. The CPU Candidate's body started rapidly fixing itself due to the very strong healing rate caused by the Quick Fix's ÜberCharge, her postoperative scars disappeared, same with the bruises. Her missing teeth started regrowing even, pushing those dumb prosthesis out of their sockets.

* * *

Pleasure…

After centuries of pain and darkness, Uni felt like she was lifted from hell straight into heaven… She could feel herself growing slightly stronger with each passing second, like life was literally being injected into her broken body…

Wait, what's going on anyway?

Suddenly she heard a muffled voice calling out. It was too faint to determine its gender. "-mpa… you… tape?"

Tape? What tape?

Uni never found out what was about that tape, because after several moments later, which felt like decades, she felt something else. A new sensation, a touch, which quickly grew into massive pain as she felt something being ripped out of her chest. However she's still too weak to do anything about it.

The pain continued. It was sharp and strong but every time it's soon overridden by the strange pleasurable sensation in that very spot.

Is she becoming a masochist or something?

Do masochists even feel pain like that!?

This circle repeated for so long that Uni forgot when it began. Meanwhile the CPU Candidate tried as hard as she could to move a single muscle, but she's simply too weak to do even that. All she could do was endure in silence and hope the pain will stop someday…

* * *

After the charge was depleted, Medic turned off the Quick Fix and placed his arms on his hips, proud with his work.

"Woohoo! We saved her, Mister Medic!" Compa cheered, feeling the joy of helping those in need.

All external and internal wounds were healed, the Quick Fix's ÜberCharge also managed to fix the broken bones as well! The ECG shows that Uni's pulse returned to normal, if not got a bit higher than for a normal person, but that's aftereffects of the accelerated healing.

"Look, she's waking up!" Compa exclaimed, her chipper voice drowning Uni's murmurs as her crimson red eyes slowly open themselves.

Which proved itself to be a mistake, because a lamp was shining brightly right above her.

"Nggh, turn off the lights!" The CPU Candidate immediately closed her eyes and turned to the side, not realizing that she still had the breathing tube and IV attached to her. Oh and also she's revealing her bare naked body to the merc and Nurse.

If anyone from Lastation knew about this, Medic and Compa would be the target of envy letters for YEARS to come, but neither doctor nor nurse really cared for the sight before them that countless could only dream of, and the German coughed, trying to announce his presence. "Fräulein, do you know vhere you are?"

This caught the CPU Candidate's attention, even through her hazy senses. The raven-haired girl slowly and awkwardly turned towards the source of the sudden voice that nearly gave her a heart attack (which was actually audible, due to her somehow still being attached to the ECG).

"Welcome back to the world of living!" Compa cheerfully announced when Uni locked her crimson eyes with Compa's creamy ones. However Uni ignored her as she looked at Medic who stared back with raised eyebrow.

It was around this moment that Uni looked down and realized she's entirely naked.

Blood rushed to her face, turning it into a similar shade as her eyes. The CPU Candidate let out a loud shriek that made Medic's ears bleed. "P-Peeeeeeeeervert!"

Immediately the raven haired teenager grabbed the nearest object, which turns out to be Medic's own Übersaw, and threw it at him. Due to her lack of coordination from not being fully recovered after her near-death experience, the saw flew far off from its designated target. However it still managed to embed itself in the wall, all the way to the vial. "G-Get out of my room!"

"B-But, we aren't perverts! We're the people who saved you!" Compa explained.

"Fräulein, you're in zhe hospital right now." Medic added with a deadpan tone.

This confused Uni, but as she looked around, the CPU Candidate saw the IV needle on the ground, the breathing tube lying on the bed next to her and the electrodes on her lap, leading to the beeping ECG.

Now Uni blushed for a very different reason…

"H-How was I supposed to know!? I just woke up and I can't remember anything!" She snapped, red on her cheeks, though her words surprised the nurse.

"Huh? Do you have amnesia?" Compa asked.

"Not surprising really, zhe head trauma vas quite serious, even the Medi-gun can't fix everything." Medic explained.

"Can you turn around, I'm NAKED here!" Uni ordered, trying to cover herself as much as possible. Rolling his eyes, Medic casually faced the wall as asked.

"There, happy?"

Uni ignored his comment as she moved onto more pressing matters. "Okay, who are you and how did I get here?"

"I'm Compa! Just a simple nurse-in-training!" The blonde chirped.

"And I'm zhe doctor." The German shrugged.

"But Doctor Who?"

\- Public Service Announcement -

Harmless Orange has fallen into depression and 12 times attempted suicide in the span of two hours.

Due to the wounds he's inflicted on himself, Harmless Orange is currently unable to continue writing and is forced to rest in the hospital.

Until he recovers and gets sent back to the mental asylum, MortalitasBorealis will take over writing the Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract fanfiction, please stay tuned.

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Update: Harmless Orange has made a full recovery and as per agreement with his M.B. he'll refrain from writing any more cringe worthy Doctor Who jokes. Now we're going to resume your scheduled fanfiction.

\- Public Service Announcement -

"Zhat isn't important." Medic dismissed her with a shake of his head. "If you want an explanation you can ask Frau Kei, I should tell her the operation is done anyvay." The German said as he ripped his saw out of the wall with some difficulty. Meanwhile Compa turned off the annoying and now-useless ECG.

"Ack, Kei!" Uni's eyes widened. "She must be worried."

"Ja, she is. Should I call her now?" Medic asked, still not looking at her and keeping his eyes on the bloodstained needle-blade.

'What's with that accent?' Uni randomly thought with a frown. "Yes, call her here. Also get me some clothes."

"Ja, ja." The German grunted, she's conscious for a few seconds and already starting to push people around. He almost regrets not mixing up her organs a bit before finishing up.

* * *

"Already?" The news surprised Kei so much that she dropped her poker face for a moment. The person was there for about half an hour and he's already saying that Uni is well and alive?

Kei didn't buy it.

"Can I see her?" The Lastation's Oracle stood up and dusted her shorts, looking expediently at Medic who simply moved out of the doorway to let her in. The doctor accidently nudged the Lastation guard with his bloodstained hand, leaving a bloody smudge on her helmet. The guard glared at him but did nothing. It did make Kei notice that his bare hands were covered in blood and he's carrying a bloodied saw-syringe… thing? It put her and the guards a little on the edge.

"Ja, but I vould get her some clothes first, she's been kicking up a fuss about it." The German said innocently. Fortunately Kei was already prepared and had Uni's spare clothes neatly arranged right next to where the Oracle was sitting.

Kei took the black clothes and mentally prepared herself for the worst, there's no way that Uni would recover from such injures in half an hour, CPU or not.

Needless to say, Compa helping a blushing-but-very-alive Uni wrap a blanket around herself was the best sight she's seen all year.

The CPU Candidate quickly spotted the entering Oracle with her clothes. "Oh, Kei, you're here already. Were you waiting in the hallway?" She asked. It took all of the Oracle's willpower to stop herself from doing something out of character like running towards her boss's sister and squeezing the crap out of her in a bear hug.

"Of course, Uni, I was worried about you. Well, we all were."

"Jeez, you didn't have to, I'm the CPU Candidate after all. Anyway, do you know what happened? The Doctor says I have amnesia and I can't remember anything after today's breakfast we had together." Uni changed the topic to hide yet another blush caused by her Oracle's worry. It seems that her stay in this hospital will be filled with embarrassment.

The mention of amnesia was another thing that surprised Kei, but this time she managed to keep her mask intact as the boyish Oracle glanced towards Medic for confirmation. "She suffered severe head trauma, short-term memory loss iz not unexpected." The German professionally stated.

"Will she be okay?" Kei asked.

"She appears to have lost only a few hours, so ja, she'll be fine."

Feeling glad by the doctor's opinion, Kei turned back towards the hidden candidate. "How are you feeling Uni? You took a lot of punishment back there."

"I'm… actually fine, nothing's hurting anymore, though my hands and legs feel kinda funny." Under the blanket, Uni ran her hands around her arms, trying to feel the reason for such a strange feeling. Medic and Compa knew the reason of course, and Compa decided to voice it out.

"That might be from when Mister Medic started taping your bones together with duct tape." She said innocently, shocking both Kei and Uni.

"Huh?"

"That joke wasn't funny." Apparently Uni took this as a joke, only to see she just confused the oblivious nurse.

"Huh? Did I say something funny?"

It took the Lastationians a moment to realize that she wasn't joking at all…

Kei finally understood what Histoire meant by 'questionable ethics'.

* * *

"Ahh, much better!" A fully clothed Uni breathed out in relief. That was one of the most embarrassing moments of her life.

She's wearing the same clothes she usually wears; a black dress with milky blue lining, an odd belt-like piece with a bow behind it and a big circle with white lining connecting the dress to her collar. There's also the long fingerless black gloves with milky blue coloring at the top and similar short boots. On the left side she could be seen with a small device which was Lastation's portable gaming console.

"I'm still shocked that you can already walk." Noted Kei.

"All thanks to Mister Medic's creation!" Compa cheerfully chirped. The German in question had his back turned towards the CPU Candidate the whole time as she dressed herself up, using the time to wash off the blood from his hands.

"But if it's so miracle-working, then why… tape bones together?" Uni grimaced. She still thought it must be some sort of joke. "Your bones vere such a mess zhat it vas easier to put puzzles together." The German answered.

"I see…" Uni gave an uncertain response. Was she hurt that badly? There isn't even a scratch on her now, much less a broken bone. "So how did I end up here? Did something happen when I was out collecting Shares?"

Kei took a breath, deciding how she should relay the information to the CPU Candidate. "I'll answer that question. I don't know many details, but a few hours after you have left, you encountered some sort of muscular man and-" Suddenly her phone rang, the cheerful jingle slightly annoying the Oracle. "Excuse me." She pulled out her black smartphone. Gosh, who could call at such-

Oh…

It's Histoire.

"Hello, Histoire." The Lastation's Oracle greeted.

"G-Good day Kei. Is Medic or Compa with you? I need to talk to either of them, quickly." The fairy's voice was nervous, but firm. Frowning, Kei answered.

"Yes, they're with me. They're actually done already and Uni's alive and well. I must say, I am both impressed and grateful for their help, and yours."

"As glad I am, but I have little time and I need to talk with either of them as fast as possible. It's very important."

Now Kei grew confused. It's rare to see Histoire so worked up on something, especially if it's not related to Neptune. However Kei knows when to not ask questions, especially when the Planeptune Oracle practically indirectly saved Uni. "Medic, it's Histoire. She would like to talk to you." Kei handed her phone to the confused German. Everyone was confused but they kept silent as the merc placed the phone next to his ear.

"Yes, zhe Medic here."

"Doctor, I need you to pack up and get back here as fast as possible. We have an emergency."

* * *

In a dimly lit room, 4 figures stood around a futuristic table with various holograms shown above it. These figures were among the most powerful beings in Gamindustri, and the most feared ones, who stand as the leaders of the Arfoire Syndicate of International Crime.

The four CFWs.

"Seems like we're slowly losing control over Planeptune." One of them stated, her tone not bothered by it in the slightest. An almost nude woman with lilac-white skin, which she compliments with purple lipstick and golden yellow eyes, the left of which she covered with an eyepatch. Her hair was a bright neon pink, worn in pigtails with long spiked bangs framing her face. She wore black armor-type clothing with her outfit resembling a very revealing bikini attached on the sides by straps. In her hair were spiked pieces on both pigtails, along with a halo-like ornament above her head. On both arms she had more black armor resembling fingerless gloves that begin at her elbows. Her boots were also made of metal and began at her knees. She even had wings, spiked segments attached to each other with pink "blades" on the bottom of each one. For the imaginative, her clothing may seem like a twisted parody of the CPUs' outfits.

Her name is CFW Magic, the same reaper who single-handedly defeated and captured all 4 CPUs and a CPU Candidate.

"But it doesn't matter anyway. Try as they might, even if they take back one nation, there's nothing that can stop the gears that have already begun to turn." She said indifferently.

"Hahaha! You're really pathetic! Falling for such an obvious trap and then forced to self-destruct!" Another CFW mocked, this one named Trick. A drooling, dirty-yellow armored like being resembling either a pig, or possibly a lizard with an enormous tongue-like piece. He has a scaled tail, almost reminiscent to a snake's.

The target of Trick's mockery was the fixed and upgraded CFW Judge. This Felon went through a few changes, including cosmetics ones like trading his thick black armor for an even tougher silver one. The other visible change was a long barrel protruding from his left forearm.

CFW Trick's mockery worked as intended and the Judge's short fuse lit up. "You got a death wish, you pedophile!? I'll rip that ugly tongue out and shove it down your throat!" He threatened, pointing his silvery axe at his colleague.

"Hehehe! But it's me who upgraded you, and I can take you apart as well if you don't stop pointing your axe at me!" Judge's threats didn't work against one of the CFWs.

"I don't care! I'll grind you to mincemeat here and now!"

"Regardless, whether we can be stopped or not, we should interfere before they manage to rescue any more CPUs." The last CFW cut in before a fight could take place.

The last of the CFWs was named Brave. Like the Judge he's also a robot, but this one looks like a Gundam Tryon 3 taken out of the Gundam series.

"You don't need to worry about the CPUs, I have moved them to more secure locations already." Magic dismissed Brave's concern. "As for the freed CPU Candidate and her allies, I believe Judge would like to repay them a favor, isn't that right?" She asked the robot with a raised eyebrow.

If CFW Judge's mouth could move, it would shift into a sadistic grin. "Oh, yes! I need to check out my new chassis after all, mangling that weak candidate and her friends should keep me entertained for a while. Hehehehe." He chuckled as he imagined all sorts of things he would do to the lilac-haired weakling when he gets his hands on her.

CFW Brave's words brought him back from his reverie though. "Try not to get destroyed again, tricked or not it still brings shame to our title as the Criminals of the Free World."

"Tch! Their little tricks won't work against me, with these new upgrades I'm undefeatable!" Judge bragged, looking at his silver hand before clenching it. "Besides, most of her allies should be eating dirt by now." He added, at which Magic raised her eyebrow again.

"Ohh? You don't know? Those men and the two children managed to survive as well, unscratched I might add." She informed.

"What!? Impossible!" The killer robot raised his voice in shock.

"But it's true. While Trick repaired you, those men have been raiding our facilities in Planeptune day by day, slaughtering our men." Magic retorted.

The fellow CFW fell silent, processing the information. After a moment he suddenly started chuckling before turning it into full-blown laughter. "Ahahaha! I see, things have got even more interesting then, yes…" He really owes them a few favors, and he wants to pay them in full. Especially to the overweight bald man with the minigun and that thin man with the mask.

"And if the men won't come? What will you do then?" CFW Brave questioned.

"Rest assured, I'll make them come, if not them then at least the CPU Candidate." Magic confidently answered. "However, keep in mind that if you fail again, we won't save you whether you survive or not." She warned, her voice not losing her confidence.

"Everything for our goddess, eh?" CFW Judge folded his mighty arms.

"Yes. All for our queen... All for the Deity of Sin."

* * *

 _TF2 Dictionary:_

 _Dry Push –_

 _Term that describes when an attacking team rushes the defending team's last point without having an ÜberCharge ready. Usually attempted when the defending team also doesn't have an ÜberCharge and the attackers outnumber the defenders._

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Practicing Medicine**

* * *

This chapter went through so much revisions that I lost count. Multiple times I went back to rewrite few scenes, add new or delete them or replace them to different spot. But it's finally over! And with that we're getting close to the Act I finale. What's it gonna be? What's it gonna be?

On a side note: My other fic: Advent of Future Force have now a beta-reader! Meet the BreadNotDead. A person who stayed with me since I began this fic.

Responses:

\- Piggyslayer1235

Not gonna say anything about the Canadian Wizard, but Spy's head is still in the fridge. Smoking cigarettes as he waits for his death.

\- Guest

Why should I blame it on anyone?

\- BreadNotDead

Killing enemies is something that the girls won't do in a long time, they're too soft for that. Better leave the killing to the professionals. As for Nisa, not every teammate will be permanent. Few of them will come and go because of various reasons. In this case is the mercs' brutality that forced Nisa to leave.

\- ARSLOTHES

Well, there you have it.

\- Harmless Orange


	17. Court in Session

**Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Court in Session**

* * *

"Good day, Oracle Histoire. I know that you, the CPU Candidate and your new… Secret Service will be watching this so I shall cut to the chase."

"I want the CPU Candidate, those 2 kids who freed her, and those men who've been assaulting our facilities to go to this location shown on the screen."

"Why, you ask? Well…"

The camera recording CFW Magic started panning clockwise, showing the bluish rocky walls of a cave with a campfire illuminating the scenery. When the cameras stopped, the sight caused numerous audiences (mostly the girls) to gasp.

Even in dim light, the familiar black-cable-tentacle-thingies were clearly visible in the footage. They were wrapped around a person, but their identity was entirely covered with cloth, like someone just threw a blanket onto their head and then wrapped them all up with tentacles. The only skin shown was from the hole made for breathing, but that alone isn't much of a clue…

"You can't see who, but I don't think I need to tell you what she is."

"You have until midnight to go there and defeat everyone inside. Win, and the CPU is yours. Should you fail however, we'll execute her. Even if she can't die, there are fates worse than death. Good luck."

After this ominous threat the footage stopped and a replay button appeared in its place.

The reactions varied, some present were pale. The Demoman for example was one of the more spooked mercenaries. "That's very bad, aye, lads?" There were also a few who stayed silent, wordlessly soaking the information, like Heavy Weapons Guy, Sniper and Histoire.

And then there's Scout…

"I didn' know Cyclops's sister was a prostitute." The Bostonian jokingly commented, noting the eyepatch on Magic. "Oi!" An offended Demoman called out. Histoire and IF stared at him in disbelief, and Spy simply rolled his eyes.

"Forget it, Scout. There is no amount of money in the world enough to get you laid."

"Spy I swear you'll wake up with a Boston Basher up yer ass someday!" Scout angrily growled, pointing at the Frenchie who feigned surprise on his face, barely suppressing the shit-eating grin from plastering all over his French smelly face.

"Oh Scout, I didn't know you wanted to see me in that way." He replied mockingly, getting the young merc to grit his teeth in anger.

On a side note, the Boston Basher is a bloodstained wooden club covered with spikes and reinforced with metal bands. I leave the image of that being inserted anywhere to your own imagination.

Their bickering amused Falcom, who was trying to keep a straight face while staying on topic. "This can't be anything but a trap, right?"

"And ya think it's anythin' else, Sheila?" Sniper retorted with passive face, completely ignoring Scout throwing death threats around. He knows the spook and how Scout usually reacts to his taunts, it's an everyday thing to him. "Hard to make it any less obvious, short of outright sayin' it."

"I guess so…"

"N-Neptune…" That name quietly left Nepgear's lips. She's hoping that it's her sister under that cloth. This is her chance after all, a chance to save her sister! To try and atone for her uselessness that day when CFW Magic effortlessly defeated all the other CPUs and she simply watched from behind…

IF noticed her friend being quiet while staring at the touchwall. "You feeling alright there, Gear?" The Guild agent asked, tapping the lilac-haired girl on the shoulder and making her perk up a little.

"H-Huh? Oh… Y-Yeah. I was just thinking…"

"About Nep, Right?" The CPU Candidate nodded at brunette's assumption.

"Yeah. I still can hardly believe it was me and not my sister who was rescued."

"Please tell me you're NOT going to just whine about that again…" IF deadpanned, her annoyance level rising due to her friend… Like she can't just finally accept the reality and move on!

A faint, knowing smirk appeared on Nepgear's face though. Oh if she only knew… However Nepgear's chance to answer was interrupted by Engineer's shout who had enough of his team's stupid argument.

"Enough fellas! Now's not the time for y'all getting at each other throats!"

Scout turned his head towards the Texan who tried to stop their argument, burning holes into his skull with his glare. The youngest merc kept his glare for few moments before sighing, announcing defeat. "Fine…"

Suddenly Soldier stood up, knocking down the chair he was sitting on. Everyone turned towards him as he began his usual shouting tirade. "Okay ladies and gentleman! We're imposing martial law!" The American proudly marched across the room until he was right in front of the group. Turning to face them, he started his speech by pointing at Falcom. "Falcom, you're on reserves! Remember to lock the doors right after we leave!"

"Huh? Why?"

"Fairy! You go tell Medic to haul his Nazi-German ass and that Nurse back here this instant!"

"I already did that."

"That's an order! Trap or not, we're going there and we're taking as many of these commie bastards with us as we can! Then we'll be back for dinner at about seventeen-oh-hundred, I'm cooking."

"No! Soldier!" White as a sheet, Scout couldn't help but yelp in fright as he remembered the disturbing realization back at the warehouses.

"What was that, son?" The self-proclaimed 'leader' of the mercenaries fully turned towards the Scout and started treading towards him before he could do much more than widen his eyes. "You got a problem with my cooking, is that right!?" The 100% triggered Soldier wrapped his hands around poor Scout's neck, choking him. The merc struggled to break free but his senior's vice-grip was just too strong to break. "You young'uns today don't know what's true American cooking! Were you not assigned to my team all of you would stuff yourself with that fast food trash and become a disgrace to the perfect American figure! I! WILL! NOT! TOLERATE! **THAT**!" He yelled, saliva spouting from his mouth and landing onto Scout's face. The other American couldn't notice it because Soldier was shaking him so hard that his neck might snap at any second. "That's it! Starting today you'll have a double serving of my healthy meals! Then you're to burn the calories with 3 times your usual training routine!"

As the crazed patriot shouted more and more mindless orders, IF and Histoire were deciding between stopping him and helping Scout or not doing anything out of fear of being on the receiving end of Soldier's wrath.

The fairy finally understood how Neptune must have felt every time she got lectured by her… Or the general idea at least, she certainly wasn't THIS violent.

Fortunately for him, the group had guests.

"Did we miss something?"

Everyone turned towards the doorway where 2 purple robe-clad Basilicom workers stood with a very confused Compa and a Medic who was wondering where did he go so wrong to get such a retarded team… Fortunately, it didn't take long to get them up to speed, Histoire had already explained most of the details on the way back. So with a now calmer group and Scout's demise averted the group could move onto the planning phase.

Right as they started, Falcom repeated her question. "Mind telling me why I can't come with you? I can take care of myself, you know." She felt slightly offended by the mercs no including her for no reason. She could be useful in this battle.

"Sorreh lassie, but it's better if ya stayed outta this one." Demoman apologized.

"Indeed." The Spy added, "We don't know what to expect and you're not connected to the Respawn system, if anything happens to you then that's it." He explained, and the redhead had little to argue with. "Speaking of which, what might we expect from this… invitation?"

"It could be anything, from an army of ASIC warriors to even a CFW. I would suggest preparing for a long and hard fight." Histoire advised.

"Heavy no fear tiny ASIC babies. Or CFW." The Russian retorted.

"But how we will free the CPU? Those tentacles holding Nep-Nep are still going to be a problem." Compa inquired, raising a good point. Even if the situation in Planeptune is much better than before the mercs arrived, they still don't have enough Shares to create another Sharicite. Histoire realized this predicament already, but decided securing Neptune in the first place, or whoever that CPU is, was the bigger priority…

"Actually, why should we believe that a CPU is really held there at all?" The Spy's reasoning voice brought everyone back to reality. "Army or not, why would they give us any chance to recapture someone so valuable? They could've moved their hostage as soon as the video was done. It may not even be a CPU, it could be anyone locked in the same way."

"Spy's got a great point there. The ASIC could even use our own strategy against us, and strike when we're busy." IF agreed, placing her hand on her hip and asked with a raised eyebrow. "So what should we do? Should more of us stay here and man the fort?"

"Negatory! They invited us, so let's give 'em a surprise!" Soldier disagreed, rubbing his chin and chuckling as an idea came to him.

"But, why falling for such an obvious trap?" The brunette argued, again not getting what the thick-headed merc was planning.

"Why? 'Cus that's the easiest way to get as many of those maggots as we can!

"Haa?" Nope. IF still won't get it, an entirely reasonable response. Why take such a huge risk just to get couple more kills? It comes as no surprise that the girls have since stopped caring about the merc's bloody methods at this point, as long it's effective and no civilians will get caught in the crossfire.

"Maybe I'll explain." Engineer took the spotlight with the confused girls as his audience. The Texan cleared his throat. "What Sol means is to use their trap against them. We know where they'll be, and they think they have the advantage so they'll be less careful. All we need is a plan to turn that in our favor."

"In other worlds you want to use the ASIC's ambush… to create your own ambush. Do I have it right?" Histoire asked, her index finger reflexively rubbing her cheek in attempt to grasp what they're planning.

"Dehphenih ihf dath wohhiht." Pyro answered with a shrug, though as usual its response made no sense to any non-mercenaries.

"Close, but no cigar. We do that only when it's worth it, otherwise we focus on our objectives." Sniper stated professionally, his face bearing no expression.

Suddenly the Demolition Man raised his hand with sheepish expression. "Oi lads. Mind if me cut in for a sec?" The group silenced and looked at him expectedly. "So can I?" The scot repeated, not knowing that the group's silence meant that they gave him their consent.

"Yes. Go ahead…" Spy groaned, not expecting anything constructive from the drunkard…

"What's on your mind, Demoman?" Histoire agreed with a much friendlier voice.

"So I been thinkin'. Shouldn' we have some sort of plan B in case things go kaboom?"

Few people (that were capable of thinking) considered this before that point. A plan B would be certainly a good idea, the mercenaries remembered their last fight with the CFW and it didn't end pretty.

"Plan B…" Nepgear repeated, her mind pondering what they'd do if their counter-trap backfired and they were simply overwhelmed. Some sort of escape plan? She didn't like the thought, anything that implied running away and abandoning Neptune- No. There's no Neptune in that building. Spy's right, stop deluding yourself! But… what if…?

"Aye! Like the 'Suicide Command' so Nepgear won't get captured when we're eatin' lead."

"'Suicide Command'-ah!" Spy facepalmed, completely forgetting about this. "Well that's embarrassing."

IF and Nepgear gulped at the same time, they heard the mercs mention that a couple of times but none of them questioned it, and the mercenaries genuinely forgot that these girls don't know how to execute that.

Hah! Execute, suicide. Get it?

"Suicide… command?" Falcom slowly repeated. That did not sound fun.

"Yah! It's really simple, just think 'kill' three times then-" The bone-snapping sound was clear to everyone. The mercenary himself froze mid-sentence, his hand still hanging in the air. Spy, being such a jerk and asshole (aren't those two the same thing?), pushed his cadaver with his index finger, making it comically fall off the chair and onto the ground.

"The Black Scottish Cyclops… now extinct!" He added mockingly.

"That wasn't funny, Spy." Histoire just sighed. She's not liking the fact she's getting used to people spontaneously dying around her…

* * *

Even at night, Planeptune was bright, the light coming from various advertisement holograms or neon lights. Kinda like in Kong King. There wasn't a cloud in sight, allowing everyone to see the moon's beauty, though Planeptune's light pollution prevented the other stars from being seen. It was surprising for the Mercs that despite the night, crowds on the sidewalks were still large and it was hard to move. Or it would be hard to navigate, had they not parted the crowds like Moses crossing the red sea.

Nepgear awkwardly walked down the streets; even after all this time she still wasn't even getting used to the attention she's receiving. Afterall, before Neptune was captured, Nepgear was just as much a shut-in as her older sibling. While the CPU Candidate tried to wave once in a while to the watching crowd, IF and Compa were much less awkward, the former ignoring the passersby altogether and the latter greeting them much more naturally.

Like IF, most of the mercenaries ignored the public, focusing only on intimidating them away from the CPU Candidate. No one wants to mess with a guy who carrier a rocket launcher or minigun after all. The exceptions were Spy and Scout, the former disguised as Falcom and did wave once in a while to keep up his act, and the latter tried to take the attention of a few girls until he was (rather embarrassingly) dragged away by Soldier. The mercs did wear a few hats and other trinkets like beards or glasses to protect their identity, but that didn't mean the public didn't recognize their unique figures, expect Spy due to his disguise.

Once outside the city, the coordinates led the group deep into the Virtua Forest. There were cases where the group briefly got lost and they had to use the N-Gear's GPS to find the right way. Monsters weren't much of a problem, like on their first day in Gamindustri the mercenaries were swift in taking down potential threats, Demolition Man even took this as an opportunity to collect heads for his Eyelander. The longest battle took less than 3 seconds and that was against a lone Fenrir (a wolf bigger than Heavy with claws as long as IF's Katars).

The monster had fled immediately, but not without losing a few limbs to Svetlana's (Heavy's Tomislav) fire.

It had recently rained there so the path was mildly muddy, but that was a mere annoyance, even to Spy since he took a pair of one of his less favored shoes.

By the time they arrived, it was nearly past the deadline. The rendezvous point was a small clearing in the forest, illuminated only by the moonlight, with a beaten path going straight through it and ending at an entrance to the cave, presumably where the ASIC is holding their captive. There was also a small pond in the centre, the stagnant water dirty from the mud and a few small rocks sprouting here and there.

"This doesn't scream 'Boss fight' at all." IF sarcastically commented. With her hand on her hip the brunette faced her lilac-haired friend. "You better transform now, Gear. We dunno what we'll face here."

Before she could do such a thing, a gloved hand was placed on her shoulder. Nepgear faced the fake Falcom with confused gaze. "Before you transform and reveal us all, lemme scout a bit."

Nepgear had no chance to reply as Spy ran ahead, with an activated Dead Ringer in his left hand.

Seeing their Spy taking Scout's role as the first one to die, Engineer let the dispenser build and clapped down his hands. "Alright boys! Last minute preparations! Pyro, mind givin' me your head for a sec?" After those words were spoken, the mercs performed their last minute check-ups. Looking if their guns were fully loaded and how they're standing in reserve ammo. The firebug, being the cancerous little bitch as it is, took the Degreaser and Reserve Shooter combo, with the Powerjack as its melee.

So that's why…

"There you go! Much obliged." The Texan thanked with amusement, he had put his own rubber glove on top of Pyro's head like a hat, giving him the 'Respectless Rubber Glove'. Nepgear freaked out when she saw the state his hand was in. "E-Engineer!? W-What's with your hand!?"

The Texan shrugged and took out his Widowmaker (a futuristic, tan shotgun styled after the Widowmaker TX from Deus Ex) "I went through some… upgrades." He responded with an evil smirk, and satisfied with the state of his weapon the merc looked around for a good spot for the teleporter. He found it inside a densely placed bushed close to the road.

Nepgear had never seen his mechanical hand revealed before, so she was staring at him in equal parts horror and fascination. Compa being Compa was oblivious to everything and IF wasn't even surprised anymore.

In her peripheral vision, IF spotted Scout taking out a can of Bonk! from his bag and putting it into his pocket for easier access. The gears in her head recalled a certain moment.

* * *

 _'Weird, she isn't moving or reacting at all! What's happened to her- Wait. This isn't affecting her, it's me! Just what the heck did Scout give me!?'_

* * *

"Hey, Scout." The brunette addressed without a second thought, the Bostonian in question glancing over.

"Yo, what's up?"

Passing the point of no return, the Guild agent voiced her request. "Can you pass me one of those Bonks?" Scout did as requested and wordlessly threw her one can before going back to his own equipment check.

Nepgear however, couldn't help but to ask. She and Compa were oblivious to its attributes after all. "Huh? Are you thirsty, IF?"

IF simply pocketed the radioactive juice in her inner pocket. "Nah, just thought it might be useful."

* * *

With the team ready, all that was needed was Spy's return, which he did a few minutes later. "Either they're very patient, or it's actually safe." He reported with a frown. "Although the cave is barricaded so we won't get in without a few explosives." Frenchie looked at his Scottish teammate, who reloaded his Quickiebomb Launcher (A black, sleek stickybomb launcher with a wooden foregrip and stock, and a belt wrapped around the drum-shaped magazine. A piston-like wooden and metal charging handle sits above the base of the stock, directly attached to the back of the barrel.)

"Okay men, listen up!" The group turned towards their Soldier for the last 'speech' before going in. "George Washington never lost! Jesus never lost! Patton never lost! If winning's good enough for those war heroes, it's damn well good enough for us! You are about to become someone's new worst nightmare, do you hear me?! Let's crush 'em!"

With Purple Sister in the air and a protective circle around Medic and Compa. The group slowly but surely traversed the open area, keeping an eye out for everything. The only person not present was Sniper who stayed behind and from the top of the tree kept watch over his teammates with the Machina (A futuristic rail gun with a fluted barrel and a soft grip, again styled after the Longsword 202 ERASER from Deus Ex).

As expected, the clearing wasn't that clear at all.

However, not even the mercenaries could predict the direction of the attack.

The first spilled blood belonged to Medic, cut perfectly clean in half. The group jumped away and scattered in fright, guns' barrels being pointed everywhere as the mud where Medic once stood started to turn red…

At the same time, Nepgear caught sight of a painfully bright pink blur going through the forest and towards the Sniper. Before she could react, CFW Magic had already cut down the tree Sniper climbed on in one strike. The Australian managed to land fairly unharmed as the ASIC Leader took to the sky, undetected by everyone but the Purple Sister and the Australian who kept looking for his fallen weapon. "Well if it isn't Nepgear? I must say, this new look doesn't suit you."

Purple Sister easily blocked the diagonal cut made at her, but CFW Magic successfully took a follow-up jab into her stomach, forcing the air out of her lungs and then grounded the CPU Candidate by batting her away with the scythe's side, making her crash in the midst of the group.

"You're late." CFW Magic descended enough for her voice to reach everyone's ears. "It was boring waiting for you. Fortunately the person with me was willing to wait a few more minutes."

"'The person with you?'?" IF repeated, helping Nepgear off the ground.

Her response was CFW Judge _decloaking_ right in front of her.

"So you really did survive that too, huh!? Good, GOOD! Now I can have my revenge!" He placed the blood-stained silver axe onto his shoulder.

Having worked with Mann Co. technology for several years, the mercs could recognize their technology just by a simple glace.

This…

…Isn't their technology. But it's damn similar.

"I see you're fine as well. Changed your look too." Spy remarked. Referencing to the new silver color of Judge's armor.

"Well then, I guess I can leave you boys alone now. Play nice, and remember the deal." With that, CFW Magic flew off into the horizon, leaving the Judge to play with his new little toys.

"Mwhahahaha! Yes, and I need someone to test my new upgrades, thanks for coming by."

While everyone else was pondering how to take down the metal menace again, Nepgear felt… strange, staring up at the titan. Now that she isn't so confused like in the Gamindustri Graveyard and she can finally see the CFW Judge in person…

She almost wanted to drop her weapon right there and beg the robot to let her dismantle him…

Fortunately the rational side of her head reminded her about the imprisoned Neptune potentially present, but there's still something wrong…

Why's there a choir singing from the CFW? What purpose does that serve? And why is it slowly driving her crazy!? It's something about that silver metal coating his chassis, the alluring sheen, it's calling out to her. She must have it. She can't let anyone else have it!

It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! **It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers!** **AND ONLY HERS! NO ONE WILL TAKE THE PRECIOUS FROM HER! NO ONE!**

G-Goodness what was that…? This sudden feeling of greed…

Trying to keep whatever that was away by constantly reminding herself about saving Neptune, the CPU Candidate questioned. "W-Where are you holding Neptune?" She tried to keep her voice level and authoritative even though her mind screamed to lash out at Judge now and claim the precious for herself.

The ASIC looked at her and laughed. "Ahahahaha! You want the CPU, right? Well she's here, but you have go through me first! Let's see how long you'll last without your precious Medic."

The weird sound coming from below him made him reconsider those words. "Huh?" The robot looked down to check what the cause was…

…And a freshly-revived Medic jumped into his vision, shooting through his right eye with the Crusader's Crossbow and ran with Compa towards the safety of their group while Judge recoiled in pain. "Did that sting? Saw-ry!" The merc taunted, fleeing behind Heavy.

Nepgear took that as a cue to charge in and stab her gunblade onto Judge's chest piece (since all it did was put a small dent on the surface) and shoot a high powered laser into him point-blank. However it didn't do much more than knock him back a few centimeters away.

When IF neared her childhood friend, she raised her hand to high-five the Nurse for a successful and great play. "Nice one Compa! Good thing he didn't see you standing behind him." Filled with glee, Compa healed Pyro with the Quick-Fix. The mumbling abomination charged in forward with his fires spewing.

"Oh, now you've REALLY done it!" Judge growled, taking out the invading syringe and throwing it away. The glass protecting the lens was destroyed but the lens themselves were fine.

He ignored Engineer who's circled him and hid a red toolbox inside some high grass, the ASIC leader blocking another blow from Nepgear with his axe being held with just his right hand (to his surprise the CPU Candidate nearly forced herself right through the block), the left one punching Pyromaniac away while its fires did nothing to Judge's armor.

A hail of bullets and rockets attacked his lower section from the side, irritating Judge enough to point the barrel on his left arm at the small group of Soldier, Heavy and Medic. "One in the pipe!" Heavy could only widen his eyes before he and Soldier were blown to smithereens by the high-speed rocket. Fortunately Medic was unharmed and was in the process of reviving his Russian meatshield.

And that's unacceptable. Knocking away the CPU Candidate and ignoring Engineer's peashooter (The Combat Mini-Sentry) and the fully-charged Machina's bullets to the head, dangerously close to his eyes, the mighty Judge charged towards the German with intention of finishing him off, his strong armor soaking everything up.

But Spy had other plans. Figuring out that the Judge needed to be stopped before their Medic gets chopped off, Frenchie threw his Electro-Sapper at the hulking giant, the device soaring through the air with the speed of a pissed-off Powerpuff Girl. The Sapper glued itself to one of Judge's thrusters and managed to do its job of slowing him down, but much less that it used to. It was easy for the robotic titan to crush and destroy the device, but nonetheless it was enough for the German to revive his Russian meatshield and start retreating, forced to leave their American companion dead and in the middle of Re:Spawn. "I see. So that's how you're doing it." The ASIC leader commented after seeing the Reanimation in process.

Seeing that their target has rockets now, the group put a little bit more distance, except those close range oriented or more agile classes, like Pyro and Scout. "Scared, huh? C'mon, don't run now!"

"Okay!"

Despite her training, the siren song of the silver metal caused Nepgear to attack recklessly again and again, even though every strike were all easily blocked by the current owner of the precious. "That's all? Even when you do look stronger you're just as pathetic as before!" The machine mocked, causing a vein to appear on Nepgear's forehead.

Meanwhile at the Basilicom, the spectating Falcom and Histoire frowned in confusion. They knew Nepgear was normally a lot more cautious than this and wondered what was causing this kind of suicidally reckless behavior…

With Judge distracted, Demoman, Spy, Engineer, IF and Compa ran towards the barricaded entrance of the cave. There'll be no point of fighting further if they manage to rescue the CPU beforehand. IF looked behind her to check if Judge was still occupied with the others, and thankfully he was.

Scout used Nepgear's distraction and fully charged Soda Popper's 'hype' (A broken Force-A-Nature repaired with several black bands and outfitted with slit barrels. A can of Crit-a-Cola is fitted underneath.) to jump multiple times and land onto the titan's shoulder, Demoman's flashbang in his hand. "Hey! Watch yo eyes, guys!"

The onslaught momentarily ceased (with an exception of that annoying Mini-Sentry…) when the blinding light filled the entire battlefield.

However after the light has faded and it was safe to uncover their eyes, Nepgear was knocked onto the ground by a headless Scout landing on top of her, and Judge looming right over her. Scout's Reanimator emitted an Electro Shield around it. Suggesting that Judge tried to destroy it…

"You really think I'll fall for this old trick for the third time!? HA! Pathetic!"

The ASIC Leader stabbed his axe's spike into Nepgear's gut, penetrating Scout's body in the process as well. The attack didn't pierce her processor unit, but the sheer force cracked it and pushed the air out of her lungs, taking a chunk of her health as well.

When Judge raised his axe for another strike, time slowed down and the world became darker…

IF discarded the can of Bonk!, leaving it hovering in the air. The Guild agent grimaced from the sickly sweet taste, but this and the bile rising in her stomach didn't impede her run towards the CPU Candidate. She carried the lilac-haired girl bridal-style away from her near-killer and, after being satisfied with the distance, she placed her onto the ground, placing her weapon next to her.

IF was about to regroup with Spy when she thought up a certain idea.

She ran back to CFW Judge and was about to get under him and attack the Anti-Gravity Engine, but she failed to realize that the world was getting brighter and time was resuming its own pace.

That proved to be a fatal mistake.

Sniper grimaced. No matter where he aims his bullets have no effect. Head? Nope. The eyes? Same thing, they just bounce off. And anywhere else on the body is armor so thick and hard it would make a Giant Robo-Heavy jealous. (That's what she said.)

Time to go like a true Australian would go…

But first, he needs to prepare…

At the same time, Medic couldn't be happier when the ubercharge meter finally hit 100%. He had dropped the previous charge due to CFW Judge's ambush, but fortunately managed to save a small part of it thanks to the Vita Saw, the kick start even if small had saved a lifetime to get the Über fully charged.

Just then the teleporter activated and Soldier with the Beggar's Bazooka and Concheror rejoined the battle, giving Medic a stern glare while getting overhealed by the German. "Thanks, doc." Sarcasm dripped from his mouth.

"Oh, stop crying and charge. I got zhe Über!" Doctor rolled his eyes and slightly raised his Medi-Gun.

An evil grin grew on the American's face at the news.

At the same time as all that was going on…

"Faster, you Scottish drunken wretch! Judge will soon notice us!" Spy hurried up, looking over his shoulder to check if the robot is coming. Luckily Nepgear was keeping him busy while Scout snuck behind him and used the Soda Popper's Hype to get onto his shoulder.

"Gah! Curse that bloody small clip!" Demoman cursed, pulling the charging handle and shooting another sticky bomb onto the wooden barricade.

"Flashbang." "Cover your eyes!" Spy and IF warned, the former much calmer than the latter. "Ugh… We should have taken Pyro, it could get us through that thing quicker than you could." The Frenchie commented after the light died down. His constant disappointment was something that Demoman was really starting to get fed up with…

Suddenly Engineer's PDA started beeping, the Texan pulling it out to see what's wrong and clicked his tongue. "Darn it, sentry's running outta lead. Be right back, boys."

Engie turned around but Spy pulled him by his shoulder. "Wait. Place a teleporter here first."

Engineer looked at him in surprise. "Ya know I'll have to destroy the one I already placed?"

"Yes." Spy shrugged. "But we can't really carry the CPU through the field with Judge around, can we?"

The Texan saw his point, nodding as he looked around for a good spot, but then he noticed that someone has disappeared. "Huh? Where's IF?"

Surprised Spy and Compa turned around and noticed that the Guild agent disappeared, only an empty can of Bonk! left where she once stood…

Back in the present, instead of finishing off that pathetic Candidate once and for all, Judge's axe hit the blue instead. It turns out it belonged to IF's coat. The Guild agent yelped from the sudden tug and fell down, hitting her head on the axe's handle.

"Huh!? Where's the Candidate!? What happened!?" Judge roared, searching around for his previous target and finding it a few meters away from him, back in her human form and clenching her chest in pain.

Satisfied by the outcome, the CFW was about to pull out his axe, before realizing who he managed to hit instead.

IF panicked, realizing too late that the Bonk had worn off. The Guild agent tried to free her coat but all it did was make the hole bigger. She was about to (with a pained heart) discard it when Judge's mighty hand gripped her tight. "Well, well, well. Thanks for dropping by!" IF struggled against his grip but the resistance was futile as the mechanical giant started clenching his arm to crush his hostage.

"Incoming!" "Attack!"

Heavy and Soldier charged with Pyro and Medic behind them. The Russian jumped forward and spun up the Tomislav mid-air, spraying a hail of lead towards the titan. Like his comrade, Soldier loaded up 3 rockets into his launcher's chamber and released them all at once. The explosive barrage hit the robot's shoulder, chest and one of his thrusters.

Judge's response was pointing his left arm (the one holding IF) and firing another rocket at the group. This time the mercs were ready. Not even a second after Judge pointed his barrel, Pyro released a stream of compressed air from his flamethrower while Medic simultaneously deployed the Electro-Shield. Thanks to the strong blast of air, the rocket turned 180 degrees and exploded against the Judge instead!

The firebug thumbed up with a sarcastic "Fink fhu." while the German cursed under his breath, realizing that he just wasted the shield. Eh, at least he could burn a few of Judge's circuits…

The explosion of his own rocket, with help from the Tomislav's fire, was strong enough to knock the CFW onto his back and release IF from his hold. For a moment the Guild agent rolled onto the ground before skidding to a halt where in a dazed stance she slowly raised herself onto her feet and stumbled off to check on Gear.

As the brunette started to get closer, she felt pangs of panic grow upon seeing Nepgear's state. The Candidate's hand grasped her bleeding chest in pain, tears leaking through her closed eyes. Engineer came into her view and without hesitation picked her up bridal-style, just like IF did under the effects of Bonk! And the Texan shouted at her as he run. "Pick up the pace, IF. We're gettin' her to Compa!"

The brunette's stumbling turned into the jog, the daze from the explosion fading. She checked behind her to see how Heavy and the others were faring.

Back in the cave, Spy nearly crushed his cigarette in anger, his right eye started twitching as well.

Everyone present were baffled by the fact that the wooden barricade managed to survive the explosion. Even if it did damage the barricade it was not enough, they need to be fast or Judge will find out and get them.

Demoman cursed the Quickiebomb Launcher's laughably small clip, taking a big swig of rum labeled the 'Scottish Handshake' and began planting new sets of bombs under the effects of his ancestors' liquor.

At the same time, in the depths of Virtua Forest, Sniper traveled alone through the wilderness. The sounds of warfare told him that the battle was still going on but that doesn't mean he can take his time. He needs to do it quickly, but if he does what he wants TOO quickly it could spell disaster too…

Years of living in the wild has taught him well, but what he's going to do today is the riskiest thing he has ever done…

Well. It's not like he can do anything else, might as well try something new.

Back in the battle, Judge slowly hoisted himself upright, using his axe as a support. He definitely felt that… The Mercs' onslaught was relentless as ever but it didn't do much, even Medic's attempt to force his shield into Judge's body were fruitless. But that one reflect with his own rocket hurt like hell. "Okay. Now I'm pissed!"

Not wanting to be fed with his own medicine again, CFW Judge decided to end them rightly in the old-fashioned way. He raised his axe with the pommel facing down.

Medic realized where this was going and quickly activated the ÜberCharge, connecting the beam to each of his present teammates briefly as they scattered. Though they weren't fast enough and the Judge's famous 'Judgment Time' hit everyone, the simultaneous flash of invincibility saved them from death, blowing them all across the field instead.

It left a slight problem however.

Medic was caught in the explosion as well.

Judge's rage started to peak when again his ultimate attack, capable of downing even Ancient Dragons in a single strike, was completely nullified by mere mortals. No matter how big the urge was to roar in anger, The Graveyard Guardian suppressed it.

After all, the Medic is now all alone, without anyone close enough to help him.

He hovered towards the German while he was in the middle of standing up. Medic saw the tip of the axe closing in and he ducked underneath it, his hand instinctively going to his melee weapon before remembering it'd do little to nothing against armor that's resisted Heavy and Soldier's barrage.

Instead, as the Judge attacked with an overhead slash during his brief moment of hesitation, Medic narrowly dodged out of the way, and the ASIC Leader got his axe buried in the wet ground. This time Medic went for his crossbow and released a single syringe aimed at the robot's right eye, but unfortunately missed the hole he did before by millimeters…

Not wasting time to retrieve the buried weapon, CFW Judge went in for the grab. Medic had no way to avoid it and ended up being trapped in his iron grip.

"Jeez, finally. What took so long and why's the teleporter on freakin' level… one?" Scout's complaint died down after seeing Compa healing Nepgear with IF doubled over, bile covering her face and the dirt in front of her as she proceeded to puke out more of her breakfast. The CPU Candidate sat on the dryer part of grass, breathing deeply. "Are they okay?" He asked in concern.

"Yes, she'll be fine. Now go and keep Judge busy. We need more time to open the cave." Spy shooed him with a hit of annoyance.

"Okay~" Scout breathed out, checking his pockets for that Bonk! he hid and finding it there.

After taking a few steps forward the Bostonian stopped and turned around to face Spy. "What about you, Spy? You're doin' nothing here, why not go and distract Judge too?" He questioned, putting his hands on his hips.

The spook looked at him as if he was stupid, with a sigh he explained. "When Demoman blows up the barricade, I am to go in there first and check for traps. Nepgear is injured and IF appears to have drunk an entire can of Bonk in one go." "Ouch." "Compa is taking care of them and Engineer is busy upgrading the teleporter. Only you have nothing to do here and that's why you're going alone."

Scout was busy wincing when Spy mentioned IF drinking an entire can of Bonk. Not even he gulps it down, taking small sips instead. Scout was about to go and help his team when he remembered one last thing. "Oi, have ya seen Snipes? He didn't runaway did he?"

Just now Spy realized that Sniper disappeared…

Thinking it's time to cut down the population, Judge turned around to face the rest of this little assault team. Medic kept in his right hand. "You see the guy I got?" He mocked, slightly shaking the German as if to show him to the public.

Then he broke his neck by twisting it 180 degrees. And he did again and again. Rotating it like he was some sort of pepper mill. He got quickly tired of it and unceremoniously dropped the cadaver onto the ground. On a side note, he did it all while the mercs fruitlessly pelted him with explosives and lead.

As an added insult to them CFW Judge ignored their attack by turning his back towards them and took time to retrieve his weapon.

"You know, this is starting to get boring. Let's play a different game!"

Activating his own cloak, the ASIC Leader turned this into a psychological battle. Heavy continued firing blindly, hoping to see the faint silhouette when struck like with Mann Co.'s cloak technology, but saw no such thing…

Suddenly, Pyro was beheaded. Its severed head bounced off Heavy's shoulder as he stared at the now-decloaked CFW, his axe already thrusting down at the Russian.

Heavy Weapons Guy's muscles didn't make much resistance for the spiky end of the axe.

With his teammates dead, Judge directed his gaze towards the last standing Soldier. The American dropped his bazooka and pulled out the mighty, mythical, god slaying, legendary, The Frying Pan.

The titan chuckled in amusement. "Pwhehehe, a frying pan against my axe? You really have a death wish!"

"I am going to claw my way down your throat and tear out your very soul!" Soldier threatened, pointing his weapon of mass murder at The Graveyard Guardian. The CFW laughed even harder at the supposed threat.

"What'll you do? Cook me a dinner!?"

Soldier kept his guard and waited for the robot to attack, except the robot was too busy laughing at the absurdity. A sudden baseball to the face brought him back to reality. "Hey! Dumbass!" Scout grinned a grin as cocky as his voice, sending another Sandman ball straight into Judge's face when his head turned to face him. "What are you lookin at?!"

"Oh? The feisty one is back for mor- GAH DAMN YOU!" Third ball to the face later, the enraged ASIC Leader charged towards the Bostonian, entirely ignoring the dumbfounded Soldier. Scout faked a yawn and waited for him with an opened Bonk! in his hand and a Sandman in the other.

The merc took a small sip of his drink when Judge's axe was coming to meet him.

Judge's broad horizontal swing hit the air, Scout dodging it while faking a scream like in Meet the Scout. Then he jumped and grabbed Judge's exposed wing, climbing onto him. The owner of that wing started turning violently, like a bull on the rodeo.

Soldier saw the chance Scout delivered to him and grinned. Charging forward the patriot used conveniently placed rocks as a stepping stone and jumped right into Judge's face. He was too busy trying to get Scout off him to notice Soldier before it was too late and received a critical smack to the face.

The patriot landed safely on his feet and turned with a satisfied smirk while his target started to spasm violently, impeding any movement. Scout noticed this, as did the Soldier, and Judge obviously felt that. The two mercs exchanged looks with wide shit-eating grins.

Critical hits are effective.

After the crit effect died down, Judge's eyes turned a faint hue of red in anger. "ENOUGH GAMES!" Disregarding the trace amounts of his self-control left in his processor, Judge fired a rocket at Soldier point-blank. Getting himself caught in the explosion as well.

The rocket's splash knocked back the CFW, however he was prepared for it so it didn't do much else. Scout however, lost his grip and fell head-first. The Graveyard Guardian stopped joking around and finished the Bostonian with an explosive.

There's no overkill in his book.

With everyone around him dead, Judge searched for the remaining enemies and froze in realization. The titan snapped towards the barricaded cave and sure enough, spotted the other mercenaries attempting to break through it. "No. You. Fucking! DON'T!" Judge roared, activating his thrusters and started flying higher. Time for death from above.

Suddenly the loud sound of a didgeridoo's tune (yes, that's an instrument. Go Google it) pierced the air. Everyone heard that but Judge didn't care and the mercs had more important matters to focus on. Only Histoire and Falcom wondered what it was.

"Giddy-up boys! Judge's com-!" Engineer's warning was short-lived by Judge's rocket blasting him to pieces. Those little bastards are even faster than the Direct Hit's rockets!

The enraged CFW glared at the group. Firing rockets from above in their general direction, he didn't even need to aim because splash damage will do the job for him. "You think you're so smart, huh!? Thinking I'm gonna fall for this, right!? All of you motherfuckers are fucking dead!"

Pyro managed to reflect one of those rockets, but the hail came too fast and they were too spread out for it to defend its team from everything, and soon it died as well. Same was with Medic who due to being freshly respawned didn't have the Electro Shield ready.

Rocket after rocket, with his endless supply the explosive barrage was as relentless as Sasha's fire, many rockets hitting nothing but the explosions sending havoc among the mercenaries. One of them destroyed the teleporter, another killed Engineer and destroyed the Mini-Sentry he just placed.

The sound of the didgeridoo was getting closer, but it didn't stop Judge's running amok.

Histoire and Falcom could only watch in horror when the roster rapidly counted everyone as dead. The damage was too high for even Spy with an activated Dead Ringer to survive that. In panic, Compa helped Nepgear and IF to hide behind the tree until the attack subsides.

The sound of the didgeridoo stopped, followed by the very audible sound of footsteps right behind the CFW Judge. And there were many of them.

The Graveyard Guardian finally turned around to see what tried to sneak up on him, even if no attempts at stealth were made.

A shirtless Sniper with a sloppy looking hairdo, similar to a mullet, tied back by a red knotted bandana named 'Your Worst Nightmare'. The merc was riding a freakin Fenrir, with two other wolfs at his side a little in front of him. He was carrying the didgeridoo and an enormous Bowie knife with a serrated spine, a small hole near the back of the blade, and a wooden handle with a gold pommel and guard. "You big head wanker!" The Australian yelled, pointing his favorite weapon for close combat at the robot and dropping the instrument onto the ground.

The Fenrirs simultaneously jumped high into the air, and the ASIC Leader was forced to raise his axe to defend himself, the monsters biting hard into the handle and won't let go. "W-What!? Get off me you damn mutts!" He shook his axe but the wolf's iron grip held true, their claws on hind legs scraping his thrusters in search of support.

While the CFW was busy with those two, the third one jumped too. The Judge could only watch as the Bushman threw a mason jar filled with a certain golden fluid straight into his face. "Jarate!" The mighty titan was covered in piss.

Then he jumped alongside his Fenrir at Judge's torso. The sheer weight was too much for his thrusters to handle and all of them descended.

"Take that! Ya trashy! Mentally defective! Rocket-chuckin'! No hopper!" Sniper took a firm grip on Judge's check piece, his other hand stabbed the robot in the head with the blade, each hit briefly paralyzing the robot due to the non-stop critical hits caused by the dreaded Jarate/Bushwacka combo. In addition the wolf just under him started to rip and tear the armor with its sharp and sturdy fangs and teeth.

However, Sniper's Moment of Glory was interrupted by all of them crashing into the ground in front of the cave. The shockwave destroyed the remains of the barricade and allowed free entrance. Sniper didn't realize that with each stab Judge's thrusters grew weaker and weaker, making their fall faster and faster.

Compa and Nepgear meekly peeked out of their hiding place, trying to check what just happened. What they saw was CFW Judge lying on the ground, bodies of Fenrirs around him. The ASIC Leader was tearing a Sniper's body apart limb by limb, letting the blood stain his armor.

Nepgear's great surge of greed was overridden by fear. It's just her and Compa now, IF was unable to fight due to Bonk! overdose and the mercenaries were dead, there's even no teleporter for them to get back here. Even if she could fight with Compa, Judge still has that rocket launcher in his arm. He can just easily kill Compa and then Nepgear will have no chance of winning this fight!

Does that mean…

They… lost?

CFW Judge slowly raised himself up, taking in the great scenery of death and destruction. At the same time Nepgear felt her knees go out. Even with the Re:Spawn System, this could be her only chance to save Neptune. Even if she can cheat death, it would take her back to Planeptune, and if that happens then she'll lose Neptune forever!

The Graveyard Guardian's laugh was very audible to the girls, the ASIC roaring in victory for everyone to hear. "GRAHAHAHAHAHA! Send more men! Send entire armies! I will DESTROY THEM ALL!" He declared to the heavens. After his amusement died down and Judge lowered his head, he spotted them, the lilac and creamy pink hair peeking behind the tree. The eyes of his remaining victims widened and they went back to hiding.

"Time for the dessert." Judge 'grinned' and cloaked. He's not done yet.

"W-What should we do? H-He saw us!" Compa asked, panic rising in her voice. Unfortunately Nepgear's mind went blank from panic. She was just as helpless as the Nurse is.

"Run…" IF said weakly, the Guild agent propelled herself upwards, leaning on the tree for support. "Damn Bonk…! Why now?" The Guild agent cursed.

"H-Huh?" Let out the lilac-haired teen in confusion.

"Damnit, just leave me here and run away!" IF snapped angrily, glaring daggers at the Candidate. They already lost, and the Guild agent is in no shape to move or fight. All they could do was for Compa and Nepgear to run away while IF tries to… entertain the ASIC Leader and buy some time, even a second would be sufficient.

"B-But, we can't leave you-" Whatever Compa tried to say, she was interrupted by a sudden axe thrown like a javelin at her. The Nurse released the most bone-chilling shriek of agony Histoire and Falcom ever heard. It'll surely burn into their memories, and the fact all they could do was uselessly watch while Nepgear and her friends were at Judge's mercy only made it worse.

The busty blonde was impaled by the tip of Judge's axe, which also kept her pinned to the ground. In panic she thrashed and tried to remove the weapon but stopped doing that when it just made the pain worse.

Nepgear paled after seeing one of her best friends in complete agony, her screams didn't help the fact. The same thing made IF forget about her sickness as well, the Guild agent breaking through the shock first to run to her childhood friend. But something strong grabbed her by her hair and pulled the brunette away, the same done to Nepgear. "I've finally got you, weaklings!" CFW Judge raised both girls to his eye level. His armor was dented, scratched and dirty in everywhere, one red eye completely destroyed thanks to Sniper's bold assault. His thrusters and Anti-Gravity Engine were on the verge of shutting down.

But he was fine.

Much finer than his opponents…

"Ohh, finally I can have my revenge! You hear? Today's the day you wish you were never born!"

"My… hair. Let go!" IF winced, grasping the hurting locks.

"It… hurts… Neptune… help…" Nepgear whined.

Meanwhile Judge wondered just what sort of torture he should do. He didn't want to kill them so fast afterall, that would be a huge waste of stress relief. "What should I do, what should I do? Aha!" The CFW's gaze focused on a small pond in the center. "Perfect."

Compa gradually calmed down (well, as much as an impaled person could), the Nano-Machines dulling the pain and stopping blood loss helped in the process. The tears were still there of course, she's still crying, but the voices of despair coming from her friends momentarily stopped the tears.

Her vision was getting blurry, but Compa could see CFW Judge hovering off with Nepgear and IF in his hands, towards the pond, and then…

Falcom took it hard, slowly lowering the laptop's screen so they don't have to see Judge 'playing' with Nepgear and IF…

And if Falcom took it hard, then Histoire was on the verge of committing seppuku. The Fairy had her face silently buried in her hands, unable to bring herself to see it.

Nepgear and IF thrashed violently, their bodies panicking over suddenly losing oxygen, but no matter how much they struggled, their torturer won't give them the live-giving air just yet.

Then after a few moments, their heads were raised above the water level. Both girls simultaneously and violently began coughing water. This moment took less than 3 seconds before their faces were again submerged into muddy water, dirtying their hair, clothes and faces.

Rinse and repeat. The Graveyard Guardian couldn't be happier watching them suffer. If not for the fact that they would die or at least lose conscious and stop struggling the ASIC Leader would keep their heads in water all the time. But he doesn't want to kill them just yet, he wants to see them suffer for as long as possible!

But because life is such a bitch, he just had to be interrupted.

" **-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALE!** " Something crashed right behind the CFW. Without hiding his annoyance he let the girls breathe for a moment as he turned around to check what it was.

Two more people he didn't recognized were standing in the small newly-created crater. Well, the only one standing was a shirtless overly muscular man with strangely shaped chest hair. The other person was a female with a purple office dress, glasses and a weird red wizard hat… She's carried over the man's shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

" **Where in the name of wild bears is that great brawl I just sensed!?"** The muscular man roared, looking around and letting the woman drop onto the ground. The newcomer looked around and spotted the ASIC Leader. Pointing at him he called out. "Hey, you! There was a fight here just now, right?"

"Who the hell are you?" Judge questioned. Annoyed that this mortal dared to interrupt his stress relief. The strongman pointed his thumb at himself and introduced himself in a loud, clear voice. " **The name's Saxton Hale! Australian! CEO of Mann Co.! And a mann who's asking you a question, so you better answer it!** " Saxton finished by pointing back at the Judge.

"Help…" Judge silenced Nepgear by putting her face back into the water.

"Damn it, Hale we got no time for this." The female stood up, adjusting her glasses and the hat.

"Shush, Miss Pudding. I'm asking something here." Hale put his finger on her lips, then he wiped it off her shoulder.

"Hale, it's Miss Pauling. Get it right!" She corrected, much more venomously. "And we're here to find the mercenaries, not fight with…" Miss Pauling's foot rested on a certain thing, that thing was in fact, Sniper's Reanimator. Then her eyes rested on the machine right in front of them, seeing that it bore very visible marks of recent fight. Adding two and two together she patted the CEO on his shoulder "Nevermind." Miss Pauling pulled out a magazine with a witch on the front page. And single-handedly opened it, her free hand suddenly started emitting green particles. "Go, get 'im!"

The CEO didn't need to be asked twice.

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Court in Session**

* * *

Well, well, well. Now that's a cliffhanger, I bet you didn't see THAT one coming.

I wonder how many Nepgear and IF fans wants to drown me right now. Or Compa's fans to stab me. I guess probably a lot.

Also, no. the P.S.A. Was just a joke. Don't take it so seriously… also Nepgear didn't went all crazy on Judge because he's a robot and Nepgear loves robots, there's completely different reason for that.

Responses:

\- Reasonably Firm Eggs

Actually I feel great. The comments on reddit weren't actually that bad. (And being former admin on TF2 server makes you grow a thick skin towards that.)

\- jiffcef

A big ass battle with CFW Judge and near ending of the first act. How's that?

\- Piggyslayer1235

To be honest I got something planned for Pyrovision, but that's going to be revealed later.

\- gladeo25

Nope.

\- BreadNotDead

Compa, an adorable ball of cuteness that being clumsy even adds to it. Such innocent person would never harm a fly. In reality she would harm it, but she wouldn't realize that she just killed another being. Just like with Pyro, except all that mental insanity.

Also, duct tape is known for fixing things that aren't supposed to move. So why the hell not bones too?

\- Samdama95

For the former wait till next chapter. The latter… holy crap. Noire would either kill Medic or be forever in his debt, or just be a total tsundere.

\- Harmless Orange.


	18. Australian Justice!

_Alright little fella, here's the newest issue of Saxton's Mannly Adventures (Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract), in pure text. Personally I would skip right into the epic fight starting somewhere at the 350 word mark. I'm not sure though, I don't read. In fact when the Author and his Editor begged me to read their stuff, I punched them out into a group of hippies to be devoured! But instead of eating those New Zealanders, those hippies gave them WREATHS! They wanted to make hippies out of those two!_

 _Luckily the Author didn't want any flowers or patchouli oil. Instead he STRANGLED them with those things. Ma boy._

 _Now, if by the end of reading this issue you say that you're not 100% satisfied by this adrenaline-pumping, mind blowing piece of e-paper, I'll personally go forward in time, find out where you live, and tell your mom/dad/grandparents/sister/brother/dog/cat/hamster/fish that YOU DO NOT EXIST!_

 _\- Saxton Hale_

 _P.S: What do you mean this isn't Saxton's Mannly Adventures!?_

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Australian Justice!**

* * *

Upon hearing the Australian introduce himself, Histoire perked up. She has heard that name before, but where... 'Saxton Hale… Saxton Hale… Saxton… Hale? Is that? No, it can't be…'

Steeling herself for the worst, the fairy slowly raised the monitor's screen. It still showed IF's point of view but thankfully it seems like the CFW Judge had let her go. 'Is he the Mr. Hale the mercenaries mentioned? He's not quite what I expected. But what is he and that woman doing here?' Histoire asked herself. Weren't they supposed to still be in the mercenaries' world? Did they figure out how to travel here?

"Do you know who they are, Histoire?" Falcom asked, noticing the recognition present on the fairy's face.

"Saxton Hale… I believe this is the name of the CEO of the company who supplied our mercenaries before I employed them." Histoire closed her eyes in thought. Yes, she can remember his name on that letter from one of Mann Co.'s crates.

"Oh. That's… one heck of a CEO. But what is he doing there?"

"I honestly have no idea, but let's see where this is going, this could at least be a chance for Nepgear and IF to get away and rescue Compa."

With a primal roar as his war cry, Saxton Hale lunged straight towards Judge. The ASIC Leader tried to raise his axe but forgot the fact that he left it with Compa. This allowed the CEO to tackle the robot and send both of them into the pond, spilling the dirty water everywhere. All who witnessed it were amazed by the man's strength.

Nepgear and IF distanced themselves as far as possible from the pond, but they were still caught in the mini-tsunami created by Saxton Hale, forcing the girls to cough the water out of their lungs.

With him somehow pinned, Judge couldn't do anything but taste the explosive power of Hale's fists. The blows were coming so quickly and with such force that the robot's chassis started becoming red hot and crack under pressure, but the CFW found the strength to interrupt with a sucker punch to the CEO's gut. While Saxton's mannly lungs refused to release even a singly particle of precious oxygen, the force of the blow still sent the him straight into the sky.

Finally free, CFW Judge managed to 'stand' up. He waited for his newest opponent to crash down so he could follow-up, but to counter such a thing was child play for Sax.

Breaking the boring laws of physics because no one cares about stuff like gravity, Saxton Hale increased his falling speed, falling faster than it's realistically possible. Because he's Saxton Hale after all so don't question it. Anyway, the shockwave caused by his landing was so great that it again blasted away all water from the pond and even directly affected the CFW, who's hovering above the water level.

The 'Slam' technique knocked back the Graveyard Guardian, making him lose his balance, and the Australian followed up with a few jabs to his thrusters.

* * *

Miss Pauling watched from afar, wisely distancing herself away from her fighting bodyguard, which in turn allowed her to escape the uncalled showers, unlike those two stranger girls who were unfortunate enough to take the brunt of Hale's Slam. Confident that the CEO of Mann Co. can handle this mechanical giant on his own, she hid away the Spellbook Magazine and focused on more pressing matters.

Namely reviving those fools of mercenaries.

Readjusting her glasses, Miss Pauling looked around the battlefield for Medic's corpse and by extension, the Medi-gun. She spotted him in pieces close to the entrance to the cave with the gun in one piece close to his hologram. Before she could race towards it though, out of nowhere a brunette in a blue coat suddenly spoke nearby, her lungs finally empty. "Who… are you?"

"Don't concern yourself with that." Pauling answered. "Just let us handle things and get out of here, it's not safe."

Miss Pauling didn't say a word more, opting to leave the confused brunette and jog towards the Medi-gun. The reanimation process didn't take long, and when it was completed and he saw who had brought him back, Medic's eyes froze and his face paled. Uh oh, he thought.

"Revive your team, then assist Hale." Pauling ordered, giving the German back his gun, or the more suited term would be she basically pushed it into his hands, narrowing her eyes. She wasn't in the mood for any disobedience. "We're going to have a _long_ talk afterwards."

* * *

CFW Judge fired one of his rocket at Saxton Hale, but the CEO easily dodged that and the explosion was too far to affect Hale in any way. The robot tried again but this time the musclehead reflected it back with a flick of a finger. Like with Pyro's Air Blast, the missile spun more or less 180 degrees and headed back where it came from, though the reflection was off the mark and missed.

If Judge's eyes could move, they would be twitching in irritation. "Oh for god's sake! Just die already!" The machine roared in anger, but all he got was an amused chuckle from Sax.

"Are you serious? This isn't even a warm up!" Hale grinned and raised his eyebrow, fueling the ASIC Leader's anger.

"Oh, yeah?! How about this?" The machine disappeared from sight, and with that Hale's grin was gone as well, a more infuriated face taking its place.

"You scoundrel."

Meanwhile, Compa's arms dropped to the ground, exhausted. The nurse tried to get the weapon out of her body but it was too heavy for her, even with the nano-machines and training. She was weakening. Just when the Planeptunian gathered her quickly fading strength for another try, the axe suddenly turned invisible. Her light creamy eyes blinked before she felt the weapon being ripped out of her, painfully.

With the cloak hiding him from sight, Judge snuck up on the unsuspecting CEO, easily slicing him in half with a diagonal strike, instantly killing him and Nepgear's chances to rescue the CPU along with him.

…Or at least, that's how it was supposed to go in Judge's head, but reality begged to differ! Because the moment the towering titan lowered his weapon, Mr. Hale sidestepped and avoided the attack. Before Judge could react to this in any meaningful way, his face was hit with an uppercut so strong that one would wonder if all 3 stars or the entire Power Meter were spent for this single KO Punch.

"That cloak technology belongs to Australians, you scum!" Hale accused, pointing exactly where the cloaked robot is.

"H-How!? How did u see me!?" Judge asked, dropping the invisibility to conserve the bit of energy remaining inside him. However the robot didn't get his answer. All he managed to do was enrage the strongest CEO on Gamindustri and Earth.

"I shall claim your pay with your life!"

* * *

Compa pointed the Quick-Fix at herself and pushed the lever, healing her injuries with her teacher's formula. Luckily the axe missed the backpack or else she would've been in biiiiiig trouble.

She was nearly done when a female she didn't know approached her. Her green eyes, similar to Iffy's, started down at her lying form with a mix of curiosity and anger. "Where did you get that?" Miss Pauling questioned, keeping her voice even. The girl did have the Quick-Fix, and she also knew how to use it, but barring that there wasn't any more reason to be suspicious, yet.

Compa was slightly alarmed by the ravenette suddenly appearing behind her, but it was quickly replaced with interest. "Huh?" The nurse stood up and faced the assistant. "You mean this?" She raised her Quick-Fix.

Miss Pauling looked the girl up and down, and for a moment, pondered what someone like her was doing out here. The peach-haired girl didn't have much of a fighter's look compared to the brunette in the blue coat, in fact she was downright adorable even covered in blood, dirt and god knows what else, youthful and endowed…

'Job. Focus on the job. Mercs first, girls later.' Miss Pauling reminded herself about her objective before she goes off track. But still, she was looking forward to speaking with the girl after this is over, for more reason than wanting some answers.

The assistant nodded and the nurse beamed with glee, her usual kindness overtaking the nurse's features. "Ah, it's one of Mister Medic's inventions."

Miss Pauling's eyes widened in shock and her hand twitched upon hearing the name. "M-Mister Medic?" She repeated, getting a hum of confirmation.

"Mhm, that's him." The Planeptunian pointed right at the German helping Scout onto his feet.

"Just what in the hell have those morons been doing here…" Pauling mumbled under her breath, ruffling through her hair with her right hand. The ravenette can feel the migraine kicking in. 'These idiots… Let them out of sight for a moment and they're already going against their contract and mercenary conduct...' The ravenette sighed and turned back to the nurse. "Say… what's your name?"

"It's Compa! An aspiring nurse wanting to help people!"

"Okay, Compa. I need you to get out there and help that idio- I mean my friend." Miss Pauling pointed at the fight happening behind her. "Just use this thing on the red holograms like you used it on yourself." The assistant pointed out. Fortunately for her the nurse knew what she needs to do. "Okie-dokie!" Compa nodded and put on the most serious face as she could muster. Which failed and just made her look more adorable.

Miss Pauling watched the Planeptunian jog towards two other girls, starting to heal them. For a brief moment the ravenette wondered how the three delicate-looking girls ended up with the mercs, before her thoughts were cheerfully interrupted. "He-hey, Miss Pauling!"

"Scout." The assistant immediately cut him off, anger freely dripping out of her mouth. The Bostonian wisely shut his mouth and let the woman continue, a bead of sweat running down his forehead.

"If you don't help Hale right now." Scout watched in fear as his crush pulled out a Spellbook Magazine and opened it. "I'll show you what happens when you _really_ piss off a magician."

Somewhere back on Earth, Soldier's former roommate sneezed and sniffed. Someone must have talked about Merasmus the Magician, or just Merasmus for short. Also known as the "idiot in a dress". The old man was wearing a black robe and a stupid hat that he named "The Skull Island Topper", which is basically a ram's skull with a missing left horn and an intact right eye which wobbles around upon movement. In addition he also happened to be tied to a chair inside a Soviet mafia's household.

Unfortunately for the wizard, he sneezed right into the mafioso's face. His lackeys laughed while the Mafioso punched Merasmus's face before he could utter any words of apology.

Back in Gamindustri, this threat was enough for Scout to reconsider saying hi. Actually no, this was enough for him to get the hell away. "O-Okay, that's fine. I'll be right over there, then." The Bostonian sheepishly smiled and ran off in the general direction of the Saxton Hale vs. CFW Judge fight.

It took about 3 seconds for him to be punched out right back to Miss Pauling.

" **Hey stickman! He's mine!** " Saxton Hale roared, pointing more less where the merc flew from the punch. When the other mercs stepped in, the CEO pointed at them as well, stopping all the REDs in their tracks.

With no one else around to get a piece of his robot, the Australian resumed thrashing the hell out of The Graveyard Guardian.

Miss Pauling gave a tired sigh. Of course Hale would be a stubborn mule and waste time beating the robot himself. The assistant turned towards Scout, who lay unconscious few feet away from her. Well, she could start asking now, she guessed. It's not like they have anything else to do.

Suddenly a sharp whistle pierced the air, catching her attention. Miss Pauling turned back to see the rest of the mercenaries, along with the mysterious girls and Compa, retreat inside the recently opened cave (the pink haired one had to be dragged away, because she seemed to be constantly eyeing the robot), save for the Spy who calmly walked towards the assistant.

"Spy!" "Miss Pauling." They both said at the same time, the former was angry while the latter was calm. They also simultaneously abruptly stopped, surprised that they spoke at the same time.

Spy however was first to break and continue. "We have a problem." He announced.

"Oh, ye?" Miss Pauling scoffed. They abandoned their post, hid in another world for months, probably thinking they're safe from the Administrator's wrath, and now they're fighting (or died fighting) with some giant killer robot that doesn't look like one of the Gray Mann's. Oh yes… they definitely have a problem.

And only because the Administrator showed interest in this new world and wanted to find its potential uses, was Miss Pauling willing to consider busting their asses out of trouble again… Afterall their knowledge here can be useful now.

"The robot Mister Hale is fighting with, it has a bomb that could set off at any moment now."

Okay, that's a surprise.

"How strong is it?" The ravenette crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows, her green eyes staring at the French merc with suspicion. He could be bluffing to buy time for the mercs to escape through the cave.

"Just around Hiroshima." Spy shrugged. It was an exaggeration, but there was some truth in it. Miss Pauling analyzed Spy's words; Searching for body tells is useless, considering that she's dealing with a master of espionage. Looking at the towering titan though, it's quite possible to put a big bomb in it. Plus, all she needs to do is to warn Hale. Oh well…

"Hale!" Miss Pauling yelled. "There's a big bomb inside this thing!" The Australian gave a thumb up, confirming that he heard the warning. The CEO's grin widened and he readjusted his hat. Saxton Hale knows just what Saxton Hale needs to do.

* * *

Removed far away from the fight, a wide-eyed Histoire and shocked Falcom watched the fight through the laptop's screen. The might of Saxton Hale's prowess rendered them speechless. A single mortal decisively winning against a CFW, an upgraded one at that, a feat that even a CPU would be hard-pressed to achieve, yet here was this man keeping him at bay, bare handed and half-naked.

Seriously, wearing even a T-shirt wouldn't kill him, would it!?

Falcom gave a nervous chuckle. "Boy, I sure am glad he seems to be on our side, f'now at least." There was a small trail of blood coming out of redhead's nose… But she was right, this surprise was a welcome one, and it was what they needed to turn the tables. Histoire however was silent, opting to rub her cheek in thoughts and try her hardest to not think about that person's quite developed muscles... 'I thought the mercenaries themselves were powerful, but this man is on a whole new level. At this point it's far beyond what a strict training regimen can do for someone… How is he doing this?'

Back at the fight, the Graveyard Guardian used his axe to knock the CEO away from him. The CFW was now literally twitching, either from anger or the damage. Sparks were emitted from various places on his body and the Anti-Gravity Engine, once nearly silent, now rivals decades old cars in terms of loudness. It's not going to be long before it shuts down.

All while the man he's fighting was perfectly fine, not even a scratch ruining his skin, which is miraculous since Judge can remember a few blows he delivered with his axe, blows which should be enough dismember a normal human.

Hale easily landed on his feet, not even fazed by the attack. His eyes noticed a didgeridoo lying next to his foot. With newly found interest he kicked it into his hands and inspected the nicely made instrument in his hands, ignoring the growing fury of Judge in front of him.

The fact that his opponent disregarded him, HIM, the mighty CFW Judge, the famous Graveyard Guardian and ASIC Leader sent the machine into frenzy. "You dare to ignore me!?" His destroyed hands gripped the bent axe tightly, and with a feral roar the punished Judge charged, wanting blood for this disgrace. Meanwhile Saxton Hale calmly examined the instrument, not knowing or more likely not caring about the danger nearing quickly.

* * *

The mercenary group stared ahead at the depths of the cave. The tunnel was narrow and straight, going slightly down like a slope. There was also no light source nor light at the end at all, making the cave look endless. There's also a cool, underground air chilling them to the bone, with an exception of those accustomed to the cold like Heavy Weapons Guy.

"It looks scary." Compa pointed out, looking back over her shoulder. The muscular stranger was still fighting with the CFW Judge, and seemed to be winning, thankfully.

"Achoo!" Sniper (still shirtless) suddenly sneezed, sniffing a moment later. Out of the entire team, he hates the cold the most. Or perhaps that's the Pyromaniac, but it's never clear with that thing…

Surprisingly, his voice echoed a few times.

"Bless ye." "Ah, bless you." Demoman and Nepgear said politely at the same time. Out of annoyance the Australian let out a groan. The girls were curious on why Sniper is shirtless but they disregarded it as another mercenary thing. (Nepgear couldn't help but to blush though, her innocence wasn't prepared for the sight of a shirtless grown man near her.) Unknowing to them, even the mercs themselves didn't know the reason why he discarded his clothing in the already chilly night.

"Y'all got some light?" Engineer asked, checking his metal supply to see if he got enough scrap for the teleporter, and luckily he had plenty.

IF opened one of her phone cases and took a light pink flip-phone. "Just a sec." With a few button presses, the Guild agent activated the flashlight function of the phone's camera. The bright light casted away the darkness of the cave and allowed them to see more. It was ominously empty, just a steep, almost even path running down. This couldn't be a natural cave, it had to be dug up by a machine, but by who? The ASIC? If someone tripped and rolled down, there's a risk that they won't stop until they reach the bottom.

"Ahh hou shhur thss ishh ah pahnd?" Pyro asked, tilting its head. The firebug was then rudely shoved aside by the group's self-proclaimed leader as he stepped forwards, scratching his chin.

"Hmmm…" Soldier thought for a moment, well… 'thought' since his lead-poisoned brain isn't capable of any intelligent thinking. However he DOES have a rocket launcher…

Raising his main weapon, the American let out a single rocket and startled the girls. "H-Hey, what are yo-!?" "Shh!" Soldier silenced IF, pressing his finger to her lips. Everyone watched the rocket go, growing smaller and smaller…

…

…

…Bloody hell that rocket is really flying a long distance.

"T-That's a very long tunnel…" Nepgear sweatdropped. Just how in the world did the ASIC get this place…

But at the end of this tunnel… Neptune.

IF however was skeptical of this. One would think there must be something valuable here if they really did send a CFW to guard it, but there's something missing… Why would the ASIC even risk giving up the CPU to them? This must be either a trap, or some sort of decoy.

In order to put her mind at ease, IF called Histoire. "Hey Histoire, the ASIC isn't pulling some sort of stunt in Planeptune while we're gone, do they?"

There was the sound of computer beeps and IF could see the Oracle's dull blue eyes light up, literally... "Hmm…" The little fairy ran through the reports in her memory. It's kinda weird to see Histoire with shinning blue eyes instead her usual dull blue ones.

"There doesn't seem to be anything unusual going on inside Planeptune or the Basilicom. Just the usual piracy. However we couldn't check the mercenaries' hotel because their defenses prevent anyone from going in. Like an impenetrable fortress." Mercenaries heard that one and felt both proud and annoyed that their employer tried to run through their stuff. The proudest one was of course Engineer, he's the one specializing in area denial afterall, and today it paid off.

"I see, thanks." IF acknowledged. So this must be a trap then. The ASIC nearly succeeded too had not Saxton Hale suddenly appeared, but they aren't out of the woods yet.

And just now the group heard the rocket explode, like a barely audible pop, but it did show just how long this tunnel is.

"That's a very long tunnel." It was IF's turn to sweatdrop. Is digging tunnels that long even beneficial in any way?

"Alright men!" Soldier turned towards his team, remembering that he have girls alongside him. "And ladies." The American saved, but Histoire and Falcom still noticed it. "Pyro. Go fetch Spy and Scout, we'll charge with the full team! Even if this cave is full of ghosts we shall break through! The ghosts I mean. Anyway GET OUT OF HERE SMOKEY JOE!"

"That won't be necessary."

The entire group turned back towards the entrance, there stood 3 people, Scout, Spy and Miss Pauling. Anger and hostility radiated from the female, but it was only directed towards the mercs.

"What the hell are you doing here..." growled Miss Pauling. The assistant's left hand wielded the Spellbook Magazine and her right hand was outstretched towards the group, emitting green particles.

Suddenly a loud and familiar roar was heard, followed by an earthquake which, in a very anti-climatic manner, knocked Miss Pauling and a few others off their footing.

* * *

Few seconds earlier…

"Hmmm…" Saxton's attention was solely focused on the nicely made didgeridoo in his hands. It had a nice brown shade with beautiful decorations. A traditionally handmade thing by Australian artisans, using the greatest hardwood found in Australia. Eager to hear it, the CEO put the instrument to his lips and played a short song, the instrument releasing very nice sounds.

Meanwhile the pissed off Judge was charging straight at Saxton Hale with the intention of killing him in the most gruesome ways, but the murderous machine wanting to kill him can wait, the didgeridoo has the priority.

Fortunately for him, Hale seemed to have accidently summoned backup, which with a mighty roar entered the battlefield and successfully stopped Judge's movement. The monster helping the CEO turns out to be a fucking Ancient Dragon which upon hearing the music decided to assist the singer of this beautiful concert. After landing on the injured CFW Judge, the reptilian growled at the machine again, as if to add an insult to injury. "Get off me you damn lizard!" Judge roared, swinging his axe madly to get the dragon off him. Unluckily the dragon stopped the weapon by biting it and forcing it out of his grasp.

If Judge wasn't already falling apart (seriously, just a little more and his engines will go out. It's miracle he's still online), then this dragon wouldn't stand a chance, but since Judge was indeed falling apart, the dragon remained a perfectly valid threat.

Saxton Hale finished the song and decided to store this nice piece inside his mannly chest hair. "How lucky of me to find it just lying around, haha!" The CEO heartily chuckled to himself, as if he heard some funny joke. Then he noticed a few stories high dragon standing no further than 4 meters away from him. Saxton Hale looked blankly at the dragon, then down at the downed machine, and back at the dragon.

And again at the Judge.

"I didn' know you also sparred with nature!" Sax pointed out with excitement, his unreadable face replaced with goofy smile, his mustache even gave him +20 to goofiness. But all Hale got in response was an angry growl from the robot, who tried to get up. However the weight of the King of Skies was just too much for Judge's destroyed arms.

"Well then, good job dragon. You showed 'im!" The CEO gave a thumb up to dragon, and received one in kind. "Now how about a round with ME!" Saxton Hale punched his arms together. " **C'mon reptilian! I'm waiting for challenge**!" Hale roared so hard that there's a chance that other dragons could hear him, but if there were any they had quickly scarpered off to safety, including the one present. Perhaps it was wild instinct, but even the beast knew messing with Hale will get you and all other representatives of your race punched to extinction. That was why the Ancient Dragon joined the Nope Train and flew away in a rush, not looking forward to a fight with a clearly superior foe.

Seeing the legendary Ancient Dragon fly away, unharmed, not taking even one of Saxton's punches to its body, caused something inside Saxton Hale to break. His pride, ego and legs collapsed, his eyes wept mannly tears of sadness and a sad violin played in the background. Every decision, every minute of living in the wilderness, every beast he has destroyed with his fists, his entire life had led him to this moment, and it had just turned tail and bolted. Deep inside, he understood. He had become so powerful, so feared, that nothing dared to challenge him anymore. Nothing COULD challenge him. He had reached the top, it was over, and all Hale could do was wail to the heavens as visitors of emptiness revealed themselves…

Except not really, since big menn don't cry and there isn't anyone with a violin around, besides Medic of course but he's stuck in the cave with the others. And Saxton Hale felt fine, besides a little disappointment that he won't get to kill magical beasts to death with his BEAR (yes, BEAR) hands, not today at least. However he quickly shrugged this off when the beaten Judge finally started to rise from the ground.

As the mighty Graveyard Guardian struggled to get up, his neck was tightly grabbed by the CEO of Mann Co. "You aren't as tough as you look, tin can." Hale mocked, a sly grin on his face. Robotic lenses a few inches apart from his face glared at him back.

"Don't you DARE mock me, meat head! If I wasn't already weakened by my previous fight I would have your head by now!"

Judge's hands shot forward in order to push his attacker away, but the damage caused to them was too great to even break his balance. "Meh." Hale raised his free hand. "Say 'ahh'."

If the ASIC leader's expression could change, he would stare blankly at the dumbass in front of him. Well in a sense Judge was already doing that. The machine knew that the man just wanted him to open his mouth, but to be that dumb… "Say 'ahh'. Say it now." Hale repeated.

"You moron! My jaw won't move even if I wanted to!" Judge tried to bonk him on the head, but the machine failed even at that.

But this new piece of information surprised Saxton Hale. How does this thing eat then… "Oh, well…" With no point of holding Judge's head, he released it, which alongside his entire upper body, the machine unceremoniously fell to the ground due to lack of support.

Immediately Hale picked Judge's head back up, the reason being Hale's foot was stuck underneath the ASIC Leader. After getting it out of the way the CFW tasted the dirt again.

Now, what was that about that bomb again?

* * *

"Waah! An earthquake!?" Compa yelped, losing her balance and falling onto her butt. The violent shaking also knocked Miss Pauling, Nepgear and Demoman onto the ground, the latter falling into drunken sleep very quickly. Those who weren't swept off their balance crouched down and waited, but the most out of luck was Nepgear, who made the mistake of being one the forefront people and after losing her balance the CPU Candidate started rolled further into the cave. "Waaaaah!" She yelled in fright. Soldier and Heavy who noticed her falling jumped forward in order to save her, but their hands failed to take a hold of her limb or hair. The rest of the group turned around in alarm, and IF and Compa were the ones to call out. "Gear!?" "Ge-Ge!?"

"Man overboard!" Soldier announced, looking at the painfully rolling figure of Nepgear. There wasn't anything for her to grab and stop herself, nor was she in her HDD form, which means she can't use her Flight Module. "Girls go ahead and catch-." The nurse and Guild agent didn't wait for Soldier finish, the pair ran ahead as fast and safely as they could, chasing their friend in trouble.

Still on the ground, Miss Pauling silently watched the leave them. Everyone's attention was focused on the pair of girls until Scout spoke up. "Hey! You alright, Miss Pauling?" He extended his hand towards her, offering to help, but unfortunately the ravenette swiped it away. "Save it, Scout." The assistant got up without anyone's help, dusted off her dress, and finally faced the team with a growl coming off her mouth.

"Since they're out of the way… You…" Miss Pauling growled, facing the rest of the team. Engineer, who immediately paled, started sprouting excuses.

"I-It's, It was just a mistake-"

"Don't give me that excuse, Engineer." The assistant sharply cut him off, fed up with their mistakes. Because of them, Miss Pauling had to pay dearly…

Engineer's words froze up in his throat. They're so screwed, so so so SO screwed. Even if she was just the Administrator's assistant, Miss Pauling isn't a woman to be taken lightly. She can fight competently, has the intelligence and the influence. And there's even Saxton Hale with her…

The ravenette continued, anger emitting out of her body. Even if they have the numbers, all Miss Pauling needs to do is say 2 words of incantation for all of them to die. Or just call Saxton Hale. He would happily take them on. "Do you know just how much trouble you have caused? You have no idea how _pissed_ I am right now." Mercs, even Heavy and Soldier, visibly flinched at the news. If Histoire and Falcom weren't busy watching Nepgear's POV right now, they would be surprised just by how afraid their mercs are right now, them, the people who take death as just a mild inconvenience, are able to achieve impossible feats and defeated both CFW Judge and a Viral Ancient Dragon… and they're all afraid of a lone witch who they even had surrounded and within arms' reach.

Although she IS a magician, so it's quite possible that she does know some crowd control tricks.

Scout, again taking the role of team's first punching bag, nervously asked. "H-How. How bad was it?" The Bostonian scratched his neck and looked away, all while Miss Pauling slowly turned her fiery gaze at the youngest member. The hostility could be practically visible on her. "I didn't sleep, shower or eat for an entire week just to get the BLU Team to replace you. The Administrator nearly killed me because you disappeared, and she spent over 3 months spending all her resources and favors to comb over the Earth to find you. And when she finally sent me with Hale and 3 BLUs to get the Engineer's teleporter off Gray Mann's hands, I HAD TO FIGHT A FREAKIN' WAVE 666 BACK THERE!" She yelled, raising her finger to his face, her breath heavy. "Now I'm in some completely different world and I got only one question." She continued, now with an unnaturally quiet, calm and more dangerous voice…

...

…

…

…

…

"How the hell did _you_ of all people manage to find this place?"

* * *

"Hmmm…" Saxton Hale absentmindedly twirled his mannly moustache, his strong brain pondering where the hell that bomb is located. "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe" Sax rhymed, pointing his finger at various places across Judge's body. "Catch some tigers by their toes. If they holler, punch them. Eeny, meeny, miny, moe. AHA!" The Australian's finger stopped, pointing at his chest. If going by the human chest's anatomy, he should be pointing at more-less the exact location of a heart.

" **ORRRAAAAA!** " The CEO brought his open fist down, in the same manner as one does the overhand right punch in boxing. He thought he could easily penetrate the silvery chassis like it's made out of paper, and then rip out the bomb from the insides. Instead all Hale got was a painful and sudden wakeup call, and all his fingers pointing in wrong directions. The evidence of strength placed in this move were 5 deep dents on Judge's armor, as always the mighty Saxton Hale poured his entire strength when throwing his hands around.

" **Jesus Christ!** " He cried to heavens, clutching the wrist of his hurt hand. All 5 fingers painfully bent sideways and/or backwards, though luckily his skin was still as flawless as ever. With gritted teeth and a sound of cracking, the Australian swiftly and painfully straightened back the broken fingers, and yes the process was as painful as it looked like.

" **Alright you metal bastard, I've had enough of this! You hear me!? I had ENOUGH!** " Mr. Hale firmly stated, resolving his mind to use the most dangerous weapon ever known to humanity. Banned in pretty much all countries except in Russia and Australia, a weapon so horrible that it was used only once, and the consequences were so severe that people are still afraid to even speak of it today.

But the CFW Judge didn't even listen to Hale. The machine opted to search his databanks instead, he was busy and couldn't be bothered by some idiot who spent too much time working out in gym. It was laughable that he was beaten TWICE, by some mortals and the pathetic CPU Candidate, but he wasn't about to throw the towel in yet.

Scanning down through various lines of text, listing the damage, his own status and the status outside, a minimap of the area and other useless stuff, his searching engine searched for the only thing that interested him. The bomb control system, his last hope of taking this bastard down. Surely CFW Trick had installed it while rebuilding him, right?

Right?

…

…

…

Oh, you son of a-

Saxton Hale inserted his arms into his chest hair, searching for this cursed object. His limbs felt around, finding other useless stuff like a burning Team Captain hat or a Golden Frying Pan. "Aha!" The CEO ripped his hands out of his chest hair, his hands grasping two objects of total mass destruction.

A perfectly innocent looking lemon.

* * *

Miss Pauling was met with silence, its reason was the question she asked which threw the mercs into a mild state of confusion. It's not the question itself which was strange but rather how quick Miss Pauling was to replace most of her anger with curiosity.

The first one who broke through the disarray was Engineer, who pressed his gloved fist onto his mouth. "A-As I said, ma'am. We don't quite know, it was an accident." The Texan stated, his voice little nervous.

'The dumber they are, the luckier they get… Somehow.' Miss Pauling thought. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, this is going to be heavy for her… "Well. Count yourself lucky… The Administrator still sees at least some use in you." The ravenette said to them, to her absolute annoyance she heard a few sighs of relief.

And of course a certain someone is lacking any sort of tact. Or gray matter. Or perhaps everything that is needed to exist as a successful person.

"You-You ain't mad anymore?" Scout asked meekly, even a little hopefully.

As a response the assistant slowly turned her head towards him, her 'I'm gonna horribly kill you' smile never faltering even for a moment. "Of course not, Scout." The assistant took a slow step towards the Bostonian, who took a step back in return. "Did you ever see me angry? Of course not, I'm a Pillar of Community. Friendship is Magic as they say, right?" Scout's back was pressed against the wall, his eyes fearfully watched a pair of Miss Pauling's hands reaching towards him, wrapping themselves around his throat and pressing tightly. "Yes Scout. I am actually very furious right now. It just so happens that you can be useful to my mission that the Administrator gave me." The ravenette told the merc, her voice sickly sweet and her smile still present.

"Halp meh." Scout choked out, Miss Pauling's grip on his neck intensified with each passing second. The woman had a grip. Fortunately for him, a few mercs were interested in that… objective. Heavy for example.

"Old woman gave job?"

Broke out of her own little world and into the harsh reality, Miss Pauling with a heavy sigh let go of Scout's neck. (Unfortunately for them all, he survived.) "Yes. Now that we found this new world, what was it again? Gaming Industry?" Miss Pauling patted her hands over themselves.

"It's Gamindustri." Spy, being a total smartass, corrected her.

"Whatever." The ravenette waved her hand at him in a disregarding manner. "The point is, the Administrator sent me and Hale to reconnaissance and find potential uses for this world. And you're going to help me." Miss Pauling waited for the info to sink in, which was visible by the mercs sharing a look with each other. After a moment of non-verbal communication the assistant continued. "To start with; what are you doing here and who were those girls. I don't care about your private lives but it's hard to believe that Scout managed to woo a girl, much less 3 of them." Several snickers came from the mercs, along with something that could be interpreted as sobbing coming off Scout. She's so cruel…

"Little girls are friends of our employer. We work with them." Heavy explained. The twitch on Miss Pauling's right eyes was visible, as well as her expressionless face as her brain failed to process the information.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait. Employer…?" She said after a pretty significant amount of time spent staring blankly at the Russian behemoth. Her mouth hung open like a fish, same with her wide eyes. These morons didn't do what she thinks they did, did they…?

* * *

Filled with complete anger towards his backstabbing 'comrade', CFW Judge shifted his focus back onto the Australian CEO. And saw the moron holding the fruit like it was some sort of divine artifact. "What are you going to do? Have a picnic on me!? Ahahahahaha!" The ASIC roared with mocking laughter. The titan knows that he lost, so he might as well mock the human until he puts him out of his own misery.

Hale lowered his gaze at the machine, a mix of proud and goofy smile on his face. "That's not a bad idea, the scenery here is quite nice." The CEO agreed, looking at the clearing destroyed by the fight. Holes in the ground left by Judge's rockets, smithereens of rocks and wood blown everywhere, dead cadavers of Fenrirs, many small ponds created by his Slam and blood where the water didn't reach. Mostly near the cave.

Yes, the scenery was absolutely gorgeous.

"Unfortunately I have to decline. Sorry tin man, but I really hate robots, so." Saxton Hale threw the lemon at Judge. The fruit hit the chassis with a loud splat and stained it with its sour juices.

"The hell was that supposed to do? I'm not some damn meal for you to season you fool!" Judge yelled.

"Oh just shut up and wait." Saxton tried to silence the ASIC Leader, but the machine was having none of it.

"I'm not gonna listen to your crazy ramblings, old man!"

" **Old man!?** I'll have you know that I'm in my early thirties!"

"I don't care! You're still old!"

The CEO brimmed with anger, but then his mannly brain noticed something peculiar. "It's not working." The Australian mumbled under his breath, curious about why his weapon didn't work as intended. Did that man just scam him off!? Him, Saxton bloody Hale!?

While the Australian had his own internal rage building in. The Judge's only regret is that he gets to die with this simpleton in front of him. "Huh!? Speak louder!" The Graveyard Guardian spoke up.

" **I said it's not working!** " Hale roared to heavens, scarring off all monsters in the forest even further.

"Well, what did you expect? You threw a damn lemon at me! If you thought that this will do something then you're an even bigger idiot than I thought!"

"Gah! Where's the instruction manual!" The CEO's hands went back to his chest hair, only to come back out with a very thick book with cover, like 1200 pages thick. The cover, instead of being made out of leather or paper at the very least, was basically a slab of some metal welded into the paper. How did they manage to do that is beyond even the author. The title was unreadable due to rust damaging the cover. The idiot who made that book could at least have engraved the title into it.

Hale sat down and put on the reading glasses that he stole from Miss Pauling. Opening the heavy book without any effort, he began to read. The creak of rusted metal moving was loud and heard by both of them. "Are you serio-!?" "Shhh, I'm reading." Saxton Hale silenced the machine next to him from speaking up.

With the last remaining bits of energy in his batteries, the ASIC Leader moved his right hand to facepalm, then it fell apart just a moment later.

Seriously… how did he lose to this idiot.

On the brighter note this moron turned his bare back towards him. With his guard dropped and his undivided attention solely focused on the book.

Resting the urge to maniacally chuckle to himself and ruin the surprise. The CFW pointed his rocket launcher at Australian's back, how lucky he is to have his enemy sit on his left side.

Adios amigos, except not. Go to hell.

With such a short distance between the machine and the CEO, the rocket's flight time was nearly non-existent. The lack of any delayed arming time on the rockets allowed for the missile to explode at full power on Saxton Hale's back. Because of the radius of explosion, Judge lost his other arm. But that was a small price to pay for killing-

"Was that pain, or just those damn mosquitoes on my back?" Saxton Hale wondered, not even removing his gaze from the manual while his hand ran over his back to swipe the annoying insects of his back.

The rocket didn't faze Hale at all, the explosion didn't even swipe that stupid hat off his own head. Though on closer inspection, there was a bit of red where the rocket had hit, like a bug bite, or at worst a slight burn, and that was all that a man-obliterating rocket at point blank achieved.

Judge's anger briefly turned into shock. Who the fuck is this man!? WHAT is he?! Then that surprise evolved into much greater anger. "Are you damn serious!? A damn rocket and you're still living!? What kind of trash did Trick equip me with!?" The ASIC Leader roared, spouting more and more complains while the CEO finally found out what was wrong and slammed the book shut.

Ignoring the absolute shitstorm the CFW was raising, the Australian steeled his resolve and swallowed his pride. It's going to be embarrassing for him.

" **I, Saxton Hale, CEO of Mann Co and fourth wealthiest mann on Earth. With my status given to me by Barnabus and Bilious Hale, my grandfather and father respectively, I claim and declare this beaten and broke tin can as my house. I swear on my pride as an Australian to move in into his cold, metal chassis and sleep there until the end of my days. To protect my house from anyone and anything that yearns to destroy him. This is my home and I'm going to protect it!** " Saxton Hale swore an oath to the moon, his voice loud and clear. Immediately he was rewarded with the smell of something burning.

Turning around he found the CFW Judge engulfed from head to 'toe' in lemon yellow flames. With a big smile of satisfaction on his face, Hale took a deep breath. "Ah, the smell of burning lemorine trifluoride. Never gets old."

"T-The hell is this!?" Judge asked in panic. Countless warnings and errors passed through his processor. That shouldn't be possible. Neptulium was supposed to be fireproof material!

Saxton Hale didn't answer however, instead he simply started preparing the picnic he was considering. Then again, a simple picnic sounded very hippie-like and he HATES hippies.

So Saxton Hale needs to create a new kind of picnic, for real menn.

With blackjack and hookers!

And steaks of course.

* * *

That hurt…

Nepgear slowly raised herself off the ground. Goodness, that landing was painful… Her descent was pretty quick, that's undeniable, considering that she rolled down what the goodness was a mile long slope… Never again. Please just, no. At least looking on the bright side, she's already at the bottom.

Her entire body was sore, but that's not surprising. She rolled for quite a while. It's actually amazing that she didn't break anything. However her clothes weren't so lucky.

She can't help but to wince on her awful appearance. Her dress is totally soaked and filthy from the pond water. And it's also totally see through! Oh goodness she now realizes why Scout was occasionally eyeing her. It was also tattered, same with her leggings, mostly because of the friction of the cave. Her already embarrassed face lit up even brighter when she noticed that her white and purple stripped panties and bra were visible from a few of the holes on her clothing, and her ascot was undone too. She could still feel the water in her boots and she's certain that she lost her hairclip... Also the skin all around her body is bruised, scratched and dirty.

Nepgear took few strands of her hair and held them in front of her face, the lilac color was stained with muddy yellow.

All in all, she looked like she went through hell and back, which actually isn't much of an exaggeration.

The CPU Candidate was ashamed to admit that she was so caught up in things that were happening around her that she forgot to check on her own appearance. Sure it probably couldn't be helped, but it was still embarrassing that she hadn't noticed until now.

Nepgear sighed in disappointment. Hopefully Compa or Medic were on the way, even if the Medi-gun doesn't remove any dirt or water, it can still fix the holes left on her clothing. Putting that thought aside, her purple eyes tried to scan her surroundings but it's too dark to see. Still, she could detect a faint trace of Share energy… Neptune!? Is she here!? "B-Big sis!? Are you here!?" Nepgear called out to the darkness…

And she actually got a response!

It was just a quiet grunt, but that's the proof that her sister is here! After all this time she can finally reunite with Neptune!

Nepgear took an eager step forward, not caring that her eyes still aren't adjusted to the darkness. Her sister is here. She can save Neptune. She can atone for how useless she was 3 years ago. Her sister, Neptune…

All of a sudden, her N-Gear starting ringing and vibrating inside her holder at her hip. The Candidate jumped in fright, clearly spooked by the device. After a moment to calm down, she realized that someone just called her, and the lilac haired girl opened the holder and sucked some air through her teeth. Her leather holder was full of water, which means her N-Gear is now completely soaked. She carefully pulled it out and examined the damage, but luckily the pink device shaped like Lastation's handheld doesn't seems to be damaged in any way, thanks to the shock-and-water-resistant casing. The N-Gear's screen showed Histoire's caller ID and Nepgear pressed 'Accept' on the touch screen.

"Histoire?" Nepgear asked, however Histoire's voice was drowned out by an unintelligible noise which rendered the message unintelligible, in addition the signal was too weak to transfer the video feedback, so the screen was blank. "Are-… -ay?! Nep-…!? -ease- answ-… me! I can't-… …stat-!" The fairy's voice sounded gravely worried, but barring that Nepgear couldn't understand a thing.

"H-Histoire? Sorry I can't hear you. Could you repeat?" Nepgear requested, but it seems Histoire couldn't hear her as well. The Chinese whispers game went on for few more moments before Nepgear, with a heavy sigh, hanged up and hid the N-Gear. Histoire was going to be so worried. And sure enough, she called back nearly immediately, but this time the CPU Candidate ignored it. 'Don't worry Histoire, I'll be back. With Neptune this time.'

Tears built up in her eyes, but Nepgear forced them away. Her big sis wouldn't want to see her crying so she has to stay strong. Or that's the nagging fear of what happens when Soldier sees her crying…

The tears immediately dried up, replaced with a great shudder. Oh that wouldn't be good.

She was about to take another step forward, but two familiar voices calling out stopped her. "Gear?! Are you alright?" "Ge-Ge?" A worried IF slid into the room, with Compa following her, who upon landing lost her balance and staggered forward, right into-.

"Waaah!"

Unable to retrieve her balance, Compa crashed into Nepgear and sent them both straight to the ground. The last one standing stood there with a blush setting in, IF awkwardly looking at both of them. The Guild agent mentally tried to redirect her flashlight elsewhere, but her hand refused to let the upskirt shot ahead go to waste. It didn't help (or it was a great help, depending on your preferences) that Compa's face was just inches away from Nepgear's own, with their chests pressing against each other.

Fan service to the fullest.

Nepgear couldn't help but to think that this feels pretty nice, but this is Compa, her best friend. Yet again her face lit up like a streetlamp on the side of the road, but luckily Compa was blocking the light of IF's flashlight, so there's still enough darkness to hide her blush.

"Okay you two lovebirds, but how about you wait until after we get back?" IF smugly teased, despite a light blush of her own. Her words brought the two other girls back to reality and they awkwardly stood up.

"Sorry Ge-Ge. I tripped." Compa apologized, healing her CPU friend with the Quick Fix.

"I-It's nothing, really."

"Hey, did you also feel something wrong with your Respawn chip? Like pain of some kind?" IF inquired, massaging her neck. The CPU Candidate perked in surprise and raised her hand to touch the general area where her own chip was supposed to be. Well she was already in a lot of pain from all the rolling so she didn't notice anything…

"I'm pretty sure that means that we're out of the respawn's range, at least that's what Mister Medic told me when we were flying to Lastation."

Nepgear and IF's eyes widened and both of them turned their heads to look at the clumsy, busty nurse who just bluntly delivered them one of the worst kind of news there is. Without Re:Spawn they're vulnerable and they shouldn't try anything rash.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, the brunette panned her light around, illuminating their surroundings entirely. "Anyway, I think we hit the jackpot."

Nepgear was right by calling it a chamber, the room was quite small but still big enough to comfortably move. It was more or less the size of her own bedroom. Bluish rock walls surrounded the girls on all sides, it was a dead end with the sole exit leading back to where Saxton Hale's fighting with CFW Judge…

There was only one object in the room…

Or several, depending on how you look at them…

Right at the back, countless thin, black tentacles were wrapped around a small person, hidden completely under a cloth, with only a small hole cut on mouth area to allow them to breathe. The tentacles, no thicker than a standard USB cable kept their prisoner bent towards the girls, with their hands forced behind them.

Neptune…

It's Neptune!

Nepgear rushed towards the captive, but IF managed to grab her wrist and stop her. "Hey, wait! Don't rush in." The brunette warned, pulling her friend away from the tentacles which tried to reach the CPU Candidate and pull her closer. Nepgear just now realized that she narrowly avoided recapture. It would spell disaster to Planeptune if she went missing again.

"Thanks IF…" Nepgear breathed out. "You're welcome." Replied the Guild agent. "So, you're sure that's Nep, right?" IF asked, pointing at the shackled person in front of them. It's hard for her to believe that they're so close to rescue Neptune... Even when Nepgear nodded excitedly as an affirmative it was hard to take in. "Y-Yes. I can feel the faint share energy coming out of her. She must be still in her HDD."

Smiles grew on the trio's faces, and they all stood in front of the captured CPU, ready to be rescued. Only a bunch of tentacles stood between them and the CPU. But they don't have the Sharicite to free her…

So what now?

Without a Sharicite crystal they aren't able to free the CPU. If they leave to get more shares they risk her being moved elsewhere by the ASIC…

Was this their plan? Did they want to show them how powerless they really are? IF balled her hand into a fist. There must be something they can do, right?

Wait a moment.

IF made a quick glance at Nepgear, still in her human form. The hopelessness was clearly visible on lilac-haired teen's face, just now starting to realize how close and yet so far she was to saving Neptune…

But since she's in her human form, then magic is on the table. Right?

Wanting to test her memory, the brunette channeled her mana and "Le Delphinus!" summoned a giant pillar of light which engulfed all the tentacles on the captive's left side. The motion spooked her friends but IF didn't care.

If they can't rescue the CPU using the Sharicite, why not try to destroy the things holding her!?

Except that after the light faded and the skill attack was spent, the tentacles were still there. What really insulted IF's power is the fact that they even looked unharmed. "I-IF!?" Nepgear recoiled in shock, but her brunette friend wasn't done, oh no, with a vein throbbing on her forehead the Guild agent pulled out the Winger and started shooting. Despite the fact that the cables were pretty thin and the brunette is shooting with just one hand, IF still managed to mail the Mann Co. issued bullets into the black tentacles.

Unfortunately, they also didn't do a thing…

"Iffy has that scary look again." Compa quietly noted to Nepgear, referring to how mad IF's green eyes look right now.

The girls started to panic when IF loudly clicked her tongue and hid away the Winger, replacing it with Katars.

"Time to send you all to-" "Umm, Iffy?" Compa suddenly interrupted, stealthily teleporting right behind her. The nurse's ample bosom pressing against her back. "Maybe there's something else we can do, so please put the weapons away?." The brunette suddenly found her arms forced behind her crush- ahh uhh FRIEND, I mean friend, yeah. Compa restrained her arms just like Spy did in chapter 2, saving her from charging forward and potentially getting captured or even permanently killed. Which the former could even translate into weird stuff being done to her brunette friend.

"What have you got in mind?" IF asked, her psychotic look vanishing and hiding her Katars.

Compa smiled and stepped in front of IF. The nurse pointed her Quick-Fix at the captive and pushed the lever, releasing a stream of healing beam into her. The reaction was nearly instantaneous, with the captive and tentacles starting to convulse and shift, grunts were heard coming from the captured woman.

Seeing that this was working, Nepgear and IF started to cheer. "Just a little more, Compa!" "Nice thinking, Compa! Keep going!" The blonde nurse brightened up and continued, the captive convulsing faster and more violently. Same with the tentacles, which grew a bit fatter and moved faster, more of them wrapping themselves around the body, yearning for more of its energy. Her grunts turned into groans…

And all their enthusiasm turned into horror…

When the groans evolved into screams…

The shrieks coming off the CPU surprised the girls. Their shell-shocked bodies couldn't help but to watch as the captive wriggled violently in pain, with the tentacles feeding off her energy without any stop, Growing in size, length and power, they yearned and sucked more and more life energy out of the captive. It was a vicious circle; the more healing Compa was pumping into her, the more pain she caused, and the horrified nurse forgot that she even held the Quick-Fix.

Not only that, but as long they actively sucked her energy, a strong electronic current would course all over her body, causing more pain and basically cooking the person inside.

The woman in front of them was in state of complete and utter agony, screaming to the heavens to make it stop. Meanwhile, the 3 girls in front of her simply stared at her, frozen in fear. One of them was even the cause of her suffering. The black tentacles grew to the size of a finger right now, and more tentacles started latching onto her body, desperately searching for any spare space in order to feed on. The tentacles didn't only sucked out her energy and created the electricity, but they also pressed against her body, crushing it. Thanks to Compa the cables were already past the 'lethal for normal humans' point.

IF finally snapped out, and immediately grasped the Quick Fix, forcing it to point anywhere else but at the woman in trouble. "Shut it down! SHUT IT DOWN! COMPA!" She yelled an order, breaking the Nurse and CPU Candidate out of the trace too.

Compa finally stopped pushing the lever, cutting off the healing beam, and the supply of energy for the tentacles.

With the Quick-Fix turned off, the trio froze again. They watched as the woman continued screaming bloody murder in front of them, but only for a moment before it was turned into heavy breathing, as if the torture device was finally turned off, and finally the captive lowered her head and stood silent. She either passed out or died. It could be anything at this point.

If they were alone here, silence would engulf them right now, but because there's a group of battle-hardened mercenaries rushing here right now, their voices and footsteps were definitely heard. But it will be a while until they get in here…

With shaky hands, Compa let go of the Quick-Fix. The fire hose connecting it with her backpack was the only thing preventing it from hitting the ground. Her legs couldn't support her any longer and they went out, falling onto her knees, the once cheerful and kind nurse stared at her unstoppably shaking hands.

She had hurt someone.

She just _hurt_ someone.

Her own world went black, the voices of her friends trying to check if she was ok were distant.

In her own shock the Nurse didn't notice the mercenaries loudly swarming the chamber.

* * *

Resembling a fish, Miss Pauling blankly stared at mercs with her jaw closing and opening, but no sound was coming out. Her mind couldn't comprehend that these idiots just went out and left Mann Co. in the middle of Gray Mann's uprising.

As silly as she looked, they didn't have much time and Spy didn't feel like waiting for her to snap out on her own, so to speed things up, the Frenchie loudly clapped his arms in front of her face. Her slight jump out of surprise proved its effectiveness.

"It's not like we had any other choice. As you can see we're stuck in this new world and our supplies aren't exactly unlimited, are they?" The neatly clothed spook reasoned, another one of his death sticks in his mouth.

The assistant's hand ruffled her raven hair as she let out a sigh. "Just wait until Administrator hears this… your funeral." Miss Pauling said with hint of tiredness.

"Herr Engineer did try to contact zhe Administrator. Unfortunately zhe phone service here says zhat zhe number doesn't exist." Medic supplied, hoping that it will help in some way. The assistant looked at the German, on the outside she looked doubtful, but on the inside she was facing a dilemma. 'On one hand, they broke their contract and there are severe consequences for that. On the other, their contacts would be a big help in gaining intel on this new world.'

The ravenette fell into another sigh. They're useful, for now. "You know, boys, you could sit here trying to explain yourself to me all damn night, but I don't really care right now. Just tell me whatever you're doing right now. We'll see what the Administrator will say about this later."

"Hooray!" Scout cheered, forgetting the fact that his crush tried to kill him just now. "Miss Pauling's joinin' us!" The Bostonian wrapped his hand around ravenette's shoulder. Much to her anger. She pointed her free hand at his stomach and with a 'You fucked up' grin she chanted.

" _Deus._ "

It was at this moment Scout and his team knew, he fucked up.

" _Invictus._ "

A transparent, glowing purple orb shot out of Miss Pauling's hand. Well, 'shot' because the projectile's travel time was literally none. The sphere exploded with a small radius but only Scout was hit, because the splash damage ignored it's caster and rest of the team was fortunate enough to be out of its range.

The spell, "Ball O' Bats" as it's named, launched the merc into the air with a horde of angry bats tailing behind him. However his flight was cut short by the ceiling and Scout dropped down onto the ground, the bats relentlessly biting and scratching him all across his body, causing him to bleed.

"That was unnecessary." Spy deadpanned, watching his teammate flail his arms everywhere in panic, trying to chase off the angry bats assaulting him, all while Miss Pauling calmly readjusted her Point and Shoot hat. "I got no time nor patience to verbally reject him every time he hits on me, he needs to take the cue that I'm not interested. Besides even I need some stress relief once in a while. Anyway, the details on your job." With a click of a pen, Miss Pauling prepared the necessary tools to note their testimony.

"And why should we tell you? I think we clarified that we don't work for the Administrator anymore, so we don't take orders from you."

Miss Pauling's narrowed gaze turned to Spy, and the ravenette took two steps to get her back against the wall and said with a hint of anger. "Don't get all cheeky with me, Spy. I got Hale on my side, and I'm sure he'd like to have few words with you all."

That shut Spy up.

Reluctantly, the mercs spilled the beans to their supervisor, and while she could smell a lie and bullshit from miles, they still could keep the intel as vague and uninformative as possible. They told her that the governmental figure of Planeptune hired them to rescue a few VIPs of this world, taken hostage by a criminal organization, and as well protect those 3 girls that ran ahead.

"Why did you even take these girls with you? Why even give them Mann Co. weapons?" Miss Pauling frowned.

"We got our reasons." Heavy stated, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He would give no more to her. They all knew how she and the Admin are towards any kind of positive relationship, they could get mad at them even training those girls how to fight.

"Uh-huh." Miss Pauling hummed, finishing writing the Russian's statement. It was obvious to her that mercs are hiding information… something must be going on in the air. But asking the mercs directly would be futile.

Luckily there are other sources…

Suddenly the questioning was interrupted by shots going off from below. Alarmed by it, the mercs readied themselves for a fight. "No time to waste, we got a princess to save!" Yelled Soldier, his rocket launcher firmly held in his hands.

* * *

The battle cries of mercs were loud and clear, nine professional killers plus one purple-clothed mage flooded into the room. At first glance this chaotic motion was without any order, but in reality this is just an everyday thing for the mercenaries.

The barrels of their weapons were locked on the mess of tentacles with a person inside. Some of the mercs' eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Why is it always us who gets to see sights like these?" Spy remarked calmly, even bored. Weird stuff seems to just follow them like a curse. Perhaps it was a bad idea for Soldier to piss off his roommate by eating those "Kill Me Come Back Stronger" pills…

The spook's eyes moved onto the crouched figure of Compa, the Quick-Fix lied on the ground next to her, and Nepgear with IF were crouching at her sides, staring at the mercs in surprise. But the nurse didn't even flinch when her allies rather loudly arrived. The blonde teen still stared at her shaking hands with teary eyes.

Seems like whatever happened here, it caused a mental breakdown for our nurse…

"We heard shots and screams, what in the hillbilly happened here? And what kind of mother-hubber are those things!?" Engineer demanded, shooting one shot at the tentacles.

Meanwhile, the Pyromaniac stood still and silent, taking in the scene happening before it.

Dozens of licorice candies surrounded a weirdly clothed young girl with blue hair. Sorrow was the only thing that could describe her mood, despite the countless licorice sweets around her to eat. Everything around them was grey, boring, sad. On the ceiling, right in the corner was a starved, depressed hamster watching them from above.

Seeing the depressed child in front of it caused Pyro's soul to stir. The Pyromaniac tightened its grip on the Rainblower and steeled its mind.

 **Pyro loves licorice.**

And cheering up others.

IF just started to explain what was going on, with Miss Pauling listening like a vulture. Just when the words "…Gear is sure that's the captured CPU!" left the brunette's mouth, the Firebug went into action. It mumbled a cry of some kind and released a thick stream of bubbles and rainbows (flames) at the field of licorice candy (black tentacles).

The surrounding gray area struggled, but the rainbows (flames) eventually managed to turn everything more lively (deadly hot). Pyro directed its Rainblower at the depressed female and again pressed the trigger. The licorice candies immediately turned more vivid and lively (caught on fire and threw themselves everywhere in futile attempt to put out the flames) same with the child who brightened up, casting the depression away. (The burning hot temperature damaged her skin and hair, with the blanked wrapped around her also catching on fire.)

Some children around it giggled and gleefully cooed at Pyro's innocent antics. (Mercs screamed and tried to restrain the demonically laughing Pyro who tries to kill them all.) While others went through the field of licorice candy to convince the blue-haired girl to join their circle of friends. (Panicking IF and Nepgear ran through the horde of mad, burning tentacles to haul the CPU away before she gets hurt anymore.)

With its mission done, Pyro rewarded itself with a nice and long nap with a red and white candy cane lying on its stomach (Medic stabbed Pyro in the gut with a strong tranquilizer, forcing the Pyromaniac to sleep.)

* * *

Right outside the cave, they were met with… a rather interesting sight.

'Why am I always surrounded by idiots?' Noted Miss Pauling, not knowing what to really think about it…

The CFW Judge was presumably dead, with burning bright yellow flames engulfing him entirely. The scent of lemorine trifluoride in the air tipped the assistant on what Hale just used. Surrounding the giant 'campfire' of a robot were meats of all kinds, stabbed onto sticks and hanged above the flames. In addition, eggs were cracked on the flat rocks set next to the flames.

A Party…? But how… and who?" Nepgear questioned, staring at the burning giant. Even now she can hear the choir calling out to her… it's scary but so… mesmerizing.

The host of said party, Saxton Hale wore an open longcoat made out of blue fur which still showed his Australia-shaped chest hair. The Australian sat by a long table place and played the didgeridoo. Said furniture looked like it's made out of bones and skin, there is even still blood on that. The chairs surrounding it were either logs of wood or rocks.

Heavy carefully put down his Svetlana and the CPU, as he and the others stared with surprise at the Australian before them. Even Histoire and Falcom were speechless, their minds overflowing with questions…

The only one who wasn't surprised but angry was Sniper, who recognized the instrument as his own one.

Unfortunately he knows that he won't be able to get it back from Hale. Because that's Saxton Hale.

"Whoa…" IF's eyes widened. "Where the heck did all that stuff come from?" The Guild agent looked around in amazement at the feast. After that challenge they all went through, they did deserve some reward, a tasty steak with eggs sounds really nice to her hungry stomach… The brunette can already feel the saliva building in her mouth.

"…What do I even say to this?" Histoire shrugged, simply at a loss at this point on the emotional roller coaster that was this operation, with Falcom excitedly adding "Hey! Do you think you could take save some of that meat and eggs for me? It looks delicious."

"We just had a sizeable supper just an hour ago, how are you still hungry?" The fairy turned to the red-head adventurer sitting comfortably next to her.

"Well… adventurers just have big stomachs, I suppose." She grinned sheepishly…

"Before we do any partying, how about you check on the… CPU as you called them." Miss Pauling pointed her thumb at the person still wrapped in the quite burnt blanket. Medic stood on her side, the beam of his Medi-gun healing that person.

This was it.

Everyone nearby turned their gaze to Nepgear, making her do the honors. The lilac-haired girl flinched from their stares, but the deep breath resolved her mind.

With firm steps, the CPU Candidate of Planeptune neared her sister. The one who she failed 3 years ago, and abandoned in the Gamindustri Graveyard. 'Will she be angry?' Nepgear thought, before immediately discarding that thought away. 'No. My sister would never be angry at me, or be disappointed.'

Many eyes watched her crouch down next to the lying enigma. Is this really her sister? Yes, it is her. There is no doubt about that. The lilac-haired teen can feel the share energy coming out of her, it seems that even without the tentacles holding her she's still in her HDD…

Her hand grasped the cloth. This is it, all she needs to do is to pull it away. And she can finally see her sister's sleeping face. Her sister who would be proud of her for rescuing her from ASIC's grasp. The same sister who will help her cast the ASIC out of Gamindustri. The lilac-haired girl refused to let tears build up in her eyes, Neptune wouldn't like to see her cry… And there's also Soldier watching her.

She had waited so long for this moment…

The candidate removed the blanket separating her from the person inside, and her purple eyes widened in surprise.

Her skin was damaged, cracked and charred in few pieces. Despite that, she slept peacefully. But there was something wrong with her…

Instead of dark purple hair, worn in twin, long braids, Nepgear stared at the messy light blue hair, with long strands on the sides of her head. Unlike Neptune, this person doesn't have any hairclips either. And lastly instead of a black skintight leotard, this person wore a white bathing suit with unattached sleeves.

Th-This isn't her sister.

 **B-Blanc!?**

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Australian Justice!**

* * *

Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Got you!

I bet no one saw that coming, you most likely thought that this is either a ruse or Neptune, but NOPE. It's Blanc. Yes everyone LOWEE GIRLS ARE COMING!

So what do you think about this? Was it so overwhelming that your mind just blow up and now I indirectly caused hundreds of headless humans everywhere!? Please no, I don't want to lose my 'Harmless' title…

Don't you think Saxton Hale feels kinda OP? Well you're right, because he and WILL be OP, even more that Nepgear.

Anyway, responses:

Jiffcef – Yes. Because I just couldn't not to put him in here, with Miss Pauling as the cherry on top. Although she seems kinda angry at them but that's understandable. As for the lore, it was kinda easy to do it actually. It also adds some interesting scenes of characters from the first world commenting on lore of the second world, and vice versa.

Piggyslayer1235 – Rule #4 Whenever Saxton Hale is holding a lemon, strawberry, orange or any other fruit. All Mann Co. personnel, along with everyone living 510 072 000 square km away from Saxton Hale should evacuate, presumably to space. That goes double for oranges because these suckers aren't as harmless as they say.

Samdama95 – LLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

BreadNotDead – It's our friendly neighborhood writer-slash-leader. Blanc! *doots in the distance* And yes, there is going to be a reason as to why the ASIC are basically giving her away. They do have a plan.

If you previously felt sorry for Compa, now you'll probably start crying for her. Such poor girl. Unfortunately my sadistic pleasure chosen her as my target.

At the end of certain chapter in the back, there is an event hinting the reason why is Nepgear behaving as she is towards the CFW Judge. And no I'm not talking about her love for robots, it's completely separate reason.

And oh god I sooo missed this opportunity. Damnit!

Gotta keep it for later tho. Thanks.

bot – You'll find out in later chapters.

\- Harmless Orange.


	19. Suspicions

**Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Suspicions**

* * *

Somewhere back on Earth, an impossibly old man took a series of deep breaths. It all came down to this, he had every possible advantage and he's ready to get some answers. _That_ woman is planning something big, very big. Otherwise several people, very important people, wouldn't just mysteriously disappear without a trace, Hale and Miss Pauling included. She must be planning something, the question is… what?

He glanced at the small child at his feet, no more than 10 years old, his ace in the hole. She was trying to burn her infinite energy by attacking the empty air with jabs. Key word: "trying", because ever since her adoption the old man never saw her getting tired. Oh the youth, such a shame it would cost him too much if he tried to be young again.

"Are you ready, Olivia?"

His voice was refined, a bit rough too after so many years of using it. Almost _too_ many years but nonetheless the olive clothed child suspended her training to look up at him with that great smile on her face. "Of course Daddy! Lemme at them!"

Her enthusiasm warmed his heart and smile. He reached to a pocket of his million-dollar gray suit and rewarded the kid with some of her favorite candy, orange flavored. The way her eyes sparked made spending those few cents worth it. But the job quickly reminded itself to him, he can't be idle for too long.

"Let's go." Both of them marched towards his target building. Mann Co. Headquarters. A 112 story-high building and location of THE Saxton Hale's office. His features turned into a scowl after seeing that ugly "We sell weapons and get in fights!" billboard. Ugh, he needs to replace that idiocy…

But not today. Today he's here to get some answers. _That_ woman won't stand in his way to get his true birthright, not her, nor Saxton Hale. He won't repeat his idiotic brothers' mistakes.

Several voices of acknowledgment caught his ears. Behind them were his and Olivia's bodyguards; Gray Gravel's newest batch of robotic mercenaries. Beings stronger, more skilled and better at fightingthan humans. Yet somehow those 9 idiots that Hale hired turned this war into an another stalemate.

Standing right at the bottom of the building, he could see just how big it was. A towering behemoth right in the middle of nowhere. By his calculations if someone called, the police should arrive in approximately 43 minutes. Only if the traffic is good.

Without fear he stepped into the vision of the motion sensor, opening the glass doors and bravely walked into the lobby. While for common folk the room could be interpreted as so luxurious that someone surely had to pour billions into it, to him he couldn't find a more unpleasant place to look at. Olivia also showed her repugnance in the form of her cute little face shifting into disgust once in awhile.

Both of them neared the terrified receptionist, nonchalant to the Robo-Soldier pointing its shotgun at the terrified woman. Fortunately the AI inside machine was smart enough to drag her off the booth, where she couldn't set off any alarms. The woman's eyes widened as she sputtered a name, both out of disbelief and nervousness. "G-G-G-Gray Mann."

"It's _Mister_ Gray Mann to you, show some respect for your elders." He corrected, his voice so casual as if he was talking about the weather. "You can leave here unscratched if you cooperate. All I want is to meet _Saxton Hale_ 's aides, where are they?" The name was spat from his lips like it was the most poisonous venom on Earth. Good thing his merc thugs are busy elsewhere, he doesn't need them here.

The woman's eyes darted between him, the robot and the gun it is holding. It was just a moment of her brain matter processing the circumstances and information but the child behind him was already impatient. "C'mon lady! Hurry! Hurry! We're in hurry!"

The receptionist flinched from the shouting, however to Olivia's credit her reaction was positive. "M-Mr. Reddy is in M-Mr. Hale's office. The top floor, o-only room, and o-only accessible through the elevator."

"I see."

Ending the conversation with words cold as winter, Gray Mann walked deeper into the building. Nothing fancy and worth his interest, but at least he didn't need to search deeper as the elevator was just around the corner, suspicious.

"Engineers."

By his orders, two Robo-Engineers stepped out of the group and approached to receive their orders, wrenches already in hands. "Yeah?" They spoke in unison, with their accent mimicking a certain texan engineer.

"Go test this elevator. I want an entrance here and the exit right in front of his office."

"Alrighty then." The robots immediately obeyed, one of them crouched and carefully placed a teleporter entrance, while the other one patiently waited inside the elevator booth. When the doors were closing, the sole-remaining Mann could even see them saluting like soldiers.

They shouldn't have much of a problem, they're durable enough to shrug much of the punishment and enough firepower to only take care of everything but the armored enemies. Which are hard to come by in the buildings. It was laughable how easily they can fall after cutting off power to their precious Re:Spawn System. Even those famous bionics enhancements won't save them. Even _the Administrator's_ lackeys don't stand a chance against his metal army!

If only those 9 brutes fell as easily as them.

Waiting for his Engineers to finish the task gave him an opportunity to steel himself. He relied on a tiny chance that _she_ didn't send him yet, unlike that buffon Hale he was the one in charge of this company's finances. Also de facto the man who's now calling the shots as both Hale and even Bidwell himself were missing. If she did, he's out of leads and forced to play the long game. Too long for his tastes.

"Why is it taking so long!?" Olivia whined, venting her frustration on the Robo-Demoman. However no matter how hard she punches the machine simply ignores her antics. Same with her father because he was on a very important train of thought.

A lot of people suddenly dissapeared, not some random common folk that no one cares about but people known to have contacts with _her_. Redmond's group is the prime example, _she_ was frantic after their disappearance. Needlessly spending her favors and burning resources, just to find them. It did catch his eye because she wasn't one to burn her money without a good reason.

After them, every disappearance was the same. A shady-looking person with a TV strapped to their chest comes to relay _her_ orders, then after a week later more of her thugs barge in, beat up the person and drag them to a van while looting their home. They're getting transported somewhere while keeping it disguised as kidnapping and stealing. He wouldn't have caught it if wasn't so many people, important-to-her-goals people. Several Mann Co. workers, _her_ own henchmen, even Bidwell himself. The last one was the most suspicious because Saxton Hale would come in fists blazing if that person was even in the slightest trouble.

Just what was her plan?

Without any warning, the teleporter whirled to life. The hum of the idle level 3 teleporter stopped his thoughts. Olivia was the first one to speak up and throw her hands around. "Finally! Let's go Daddy! I wanna lead a company!" She urged, literally pushing him with her body. Of course that was useless but at the same time she looked adorable doing this.

"Yes. Let's get you one."

"Yay!"

With eagerness which melted his cold, gray heart. Olivia and her… Daddy, stepped onto the teleporter and disappeared to who knows where...

* * *

To say that Nepgear was shocked would be an understatement. Everyone was having trouble finding a logical reason why the ASIC actually gave them the CPU back. A real _Loweean_ _CPU._

 _Goodness there's_ Blanc _of all people right in front of Nepgear!_ Not some kind of trap, not Neptune, but _Blanc!_

Who wouldn't be shocked!? They just rescued a _CPU_ of all people from the ASIC! And it's not even their own one!

Why did the ASIC even keep their word!?

What's the reason!? Where's the logic in all of this!?

The awkward silence was interrupted by the booming sound of Hale's laughing. "Ah! Miss Padding! Nice to see you joining me! Want a steak? I guarantee you that they're great."

"I want one, sir!" Falcom yelled over the N-Gear.

"One for the kiddo in blue, great choice!" Saxton Hale pointed his spatula at IF, not even caring that he doesn't even know her. Though the guild agent felt a bit offended over being called a 'kid'. "Hey!"

"It's Miss _Pauling_ , Hale!" The assistant retorted, cutting those two off. "And what the hell are you doing? How did you even set up a table here!?" Her hands touched the strange furniture and immediately had to ask. "Are those bones and skin?"

"Oh ye, I found some dead, gigantic wolves nearby. Like, really huge ones! Fresh too so I just couldn't let them waste away."

Of course. And he made a table out of them.

No one is even going to question it, Histoire just gave up long ago.

Hale shrugged, cracking a sizeable egg and spilling the contents onto a flat rock. "Also I found some bird nests. You should really see just what weird birds are living here, they look half horse! Weird."

"Those are Horsebird eggs!?" Compa and IF yelled in alarm, the latter frantically watching the skies for an angry momma to swoop down. Horsebirds were very, VERY protective of their children. They could have another fight any second now.

"So that's that they're called, huh?" Hale scratched his ear, thinking. "Pretty crappy name to be honest."

"Screw that, look who I found."Miss Pauling pointed her thumb at the red-coded team. "Team Fortress: your old mercs!" Her choice of words confused the girls. "Team Fortress?" "His old mercs?" Compa and IF repeated, listening in but continuing to watch the skies. Fortunately there was no sign of any furious Horsebirds descending upon them, but they weren't about to let their guard down.

"My mercs? Which ones- Oh.." He turned around and saw them. " _Those_ guys." He stepped closer to the team, and by stepped I meant got right into their faces. Soldier actually paled when the Australian stared him down. "Are they _really_ mercs?" He turned back to the assistant, who stared at him blankly as if to say 'Are you goddamn kidding me?'

"Yes." She deadpanned. "You hired them to defend your company. While you were fighting with the Yeti for 9 hours… Bidwell even recorded all of that."

"Ahh…" He snapped his fingers. "Yes! I waited 10 blasted months for those hippies to let me see that blasted monkey!" He looked up and down at the nervous Soldier. "Well pal, you look just like Helen described you."

"An honor, sir!" The american gave a nervous salute, clearly thinking that it was a compliment. It actually amused Hale. "Ahahahaha! Clearly a moron as she said." He gave him a heartfelt slap on the shoulder, knocking him off his feet and face-first onto a small rock. "An honor, sir!" The Soldier repeated, breaking his teeth over some common rock.

"Um, Mr. Hale. Ve did manage to stop zhe robots." Medic informed, holding up his index finger for emphasis.

"Good work then, champ!" The australian grinned at him. "Thanks to you morons, my buildings didn't have to take any bullets, because you caught 'em all! Free of charge too! Ahahaha!"

The wind carried Hale's laugh far, but Compa ignored it, preferring to crouch next to the sleeping Blanc. The CPU's burns were so severe that her Quick-Fix had trouble healing them. Apparently all Medi-Guns had trouble healing fire burns. While her mind still had a hard time registering it, the guilt was still there.

She hurt Blanc, she hurt a _CPU_.

Is she a bad guy now?

But, the mercs hurt a lot of people. But all of them were the ASIC, bad guys who need to be stopped.

And she hurt one of the CPUs, one of her friend's friend… Therefore she's different.

Does she still deserve a spot on the good side?

Her self-pity would continue, had not Hale's voice gotten so loud that she could do nothing but be brought back to reality.

" **SPICY GAZELLE RIBS! IS THAT YOU, MUNDY!?** "

His excited outburst was enough to get every monster in Virtua Forest to evacuate to nearby dungeons or cities. The CEO crashed through the mercs like a bowling ball through pins, they even fell the same way. All of that to get that one man who distanced himself from the group and lock him into a headlock.

"I haven't seen you in ages, old friend! How are ya? Still havin' that New Zealander blood in ya, aren't cha mate?" Sniper stood no chance, he was trapped by the strongest Australian in both worlds. All he can do is kiss his freedom goodbye.

Also, saying that someone has 'New Zealander blood' is a traditional Australian insult. In laymen's terms it's calling an Australian weak, unmannly, a goddamn pussy.

"Bloody piker! Let me go, Hale!" Sniper grumbled, fighting against the odds to break free, but of course the stronger Australian was well... stronger.

With a wide grin, Saxton Hale rubbed his knuckles roughly against Mundy's hair. "C'mon Mundy! Tell me how yer day went!" Sniper got even more annoyed by Hale forcing himself onto him and blindly reached out for the Bushwacka, trying to stab the fellow Australian.

"Oh, ohoho! T-That tickles! Ahah, s-stop!" Saxton yelped, squirming his abdomen muscles, but Sniper was merciless and kept stabbing angrily.

Histoire and Falcom watched the showcase of 'affection' with a bead of sweat running down their faces. How could one mistake 'stabbing with a good-goddess sized knife' as 'tickling'?

Then her attention shifted towards Miss Pauling who was right in front of IF. The assistant had her head to the left, something must have caught her attention.

Then IF also turned her head and…

Oh goddess…

Wha-wha-WHAT?!

Whatever it was, IF's shriek proved that she wasn't going insane, and that it was really happening.

" **GOODNESS! WHAT THE HELL, GEAR!?** "

* * *

Nepgear couldn't stop staring at the burning body of CFW Judge. His gorgeous, silver armor shone beautifully under the golden flames. How is he burning for so long when even Pyro's flames didn't affect him was beyond her, but its beauty couldn't be explained with words. Maybe she can still salvage at least some of his hardware, a sentient robot capable of mass destruction. Literally a perfect manifestation of dreams, those wet ones. But for now, all she could focus on was that alluring voice of the choir calling out to her, charming her till her brain shutdown.

It's so beautiful. She wants- no, she _needs_ to get closer...

The CPU Candidate took a small step towards it, like a mindless zombie, all her reasoning abandoned. It didn't help that the other girls weren't paying any attention to her, busy either watching Hale's conversation with the mercs or trying to help Blanc.

Another step. The resistance is futile, the urge is just too strong for her. Like a drug addict wanting another shot.

She doesn't even want to resist.

Nothing else mattered, not even the heat of flames drying her skin. She bravely, or perhaps foolishly took another step.

Her fingers were already brushing the hot metal, the dancing flames quickly did their job and ignited her sleeve, but she didn't even notice. Just a little more, just a bit closer. She can enjoy the metal's fiery touch on her entire body…

With the last step, the lilac-haired girl spread out her arms and embraced the robot, welcoming the hellish flames on her entire body as she took a hold of CFW Judge's arm, letting the flames' warm touch engulf her entirely; clothes, skin, hair. All of that easily started to combust, but the lilac-haired girl did not even realize that she's slowly and painfully dying. The CPU Candidate was busy rubbing her cheek against the metal, letting some of the coating even _melt_ into her face.

She felt no pain, her brain stopped registering anything else but the choir. All she can think about is the _PRECIOUS_.

No one realized that Nepgear was willingly cooking herself, till Miss Pauling smelt the familiar scent of burning flesh and turned to the side, which in turn got IF's attention and not even a second passed before the Guild agent felt her heart stop beating.

" **GOODNESS! WHAT THE HELL, GEAR!?** "

* * *

She can't believe it.

She absolutely can't believe it.

It doesn't matter that there's a burned-and-perhaps-even-dead Nepgear in the Medical Bay. She fundamentally refuses to believe that Nepgear of all people willingly threw herself into a fire!

What was she thinking!? Was she thinking at all?!

And why does she have a such strong urge to turn the air blue!?

"Tonight was such a mess, huh, Histoire?" Falcom sighed, her enthusiasm gone into the fire alongside the CPU Candidate. The adventurer just boredly ate her half-eaten roasted steak while Histoire's head was continuously bombarded with questions.

First was ASIC's sudden challenge. That itself felt like a trap but the mercs went anyway… Then those upgrades on CFW Judge. While it's reasonable for him to get some improvements after that last fight, what _was_ that? Something caused _Nepgear_ to just go _berserk_. The same kind Nepgear who just can't hurt a fly without feeling guilty. Just what happened?

Then those two strangers who arrived just in time to turn the tides. That woman and the freaking _CEO of Mann Co.,_ how they even get in here? The mercs said that they got in here by accident, did their employers manage to reverse engineer the interdimensional teleporter for reliable use?

At least… "Hey, look on the bright side, despite everything we saved Blanc at least." Falcom noted with a smile, which helped the fairy relax a little herself, but that only led to the next question.

Why did ASIC even keep their own word? It would be so easy to just tie up any other hostage, or even leave the cave empty, why did they give up a CPU? Why _Blanc?_

Nothing makes sense…

"Histoire?" Falcom finally broke the fairy out of her train of thoughts, and her absent-minded floating around the room to boot. Yes, she could think about ASIC later, there's more pressing concerns, like the Candidate. The Candidate…?

"...Please remind me why we didn't just let Nepgear respawn?" The Oracle asked without a second thought, turning towards the adventurer…

…And now that these words were out, Histoire just realized their context. She started to feel sick to her stomach. This was the lowest she could possibly fall, and those words alone meant that she has failed as Planeptune's Oracle.

Damn it! She's supposed to help Nepgear and Neptune, not suggesting to leave them to die! When did she become so reliant on the Re:Spawn system? When did she start thinking it's okay for the Candidate to die? When did she lose her sanity?!

And then the air turned blue with colorful words of frustration.

"Medic wanted to check what was wrong with Nepgear. Apparently chances are we won't learn what happened if we just let her respawn." Falcom calmly answered. Whether the adventurer didn't notice the unforgivable undertones of Histoire's statement or she didn't care, the fairy doesn't know. But what everyone here does know is that something happened to Nepgear, just no one knows what.

An awkward silence fell upon them. Falcom slowly resumed eating her share of steak while Histoire flew around the room, both out of boredom and in agitation. She just couldn't sit still in this kind of situation; it felt like hours have passed before the doors were finally unlocked and a blood-stained Medic walked out.

Histoire was on him faster than Neptune could eat her pudding. "How is she?"

"Vell, zhis is veird, but barring zhe 3rd und 4th degree burns, nothing else is vrong vith her."

That sentence alone was enough to throw Histoire into state of near hysteria. "Nothing!? With all due respect, Medic, but Nepgear just threw herself into a fire! And-" She snapped, but the fairy still had enough control to keep her voice firm but not raised. However that was shattered when Medic interrupted her, pointing at the blonde for emphasis.

"Und, with all due respect as vell, Frau Histoire, I am a doctor, not a psychologist. I can check only zhe physical- und please pardon me for zhe moment." Medic darted back into the room. Curious about what happened, the fairy peeked through the opened doors as well to see him throwing his hands around and hear him shouting. "Nein, not _again_ Archimedes, I said get out of her chest! Nein Christina, zhat isn't zhe place to lay eggs!"

'Despite his antics, he's currently the best doctor in Planeptune. Despite his craziness, he knows what he's doing. Despite the birds. Nepgear is in good hands...' Histoire mentally chanted, holding herself to not lash out and hurt the innocent birds or the Mad Doctor.

She's starting to scare herself. That horrible event 3 years ago when the Goddesses were captured left Histoire pitting and blaming herself ever since. Countless sleepless nights were spent thinking 'What if she hadn't let them go out' and wondering what she could've done, what could've been. If the Goddesses never ventured into the Gamindustri Graveyard. Would Gamindustri still be as beautiful as it were once before?

But at least then she only had herself to blame. Now, she doesn't even know how she should feel, think or act. Should she blame herself for letting the mercs go and spring the trap? But Blanc was saved because she agreed. Angry at the mercs to even consider fighting tooth and nail with Judge, stupidly taking the bait? But they killed a CFW for good, or at least drew Hale's attention so he could do it. Relief that they managed to rescue a CPU from ASIC clutches and set up a foundation for an alliance with Lowee, in addition to finding potentially new allies? But Nepgear and her friends suffered greatly because of tonight...

In short, for the first time in a long while, Histoire was at a complete loss on what to even think. Too much has happened in too short a time, compiling on the long string of craziness that has wrapped around her life ever since the mercenaries arrived. The madness is getting infectious...

"Perhaps you should rest a little." Medic suggested, lightly spooking Histoire as she didn't notice him staring right at her face. "Fräulein Nepgear shouldn't wake up till morning. Zhe medi-guns take ze long time for burns."

Rest. That… that sounds like something she needs right now. The incident with Nepgear is just too much for her to handle. It's a miracle on its own that her processor still functions.

"I think I'll take you up on that offer, but I'll need to check on Blanc right after the break. Where is she? I want to see her with my own two eyes."

"Vell, considering zhat I don't have enough room for two patients here, she's resting in my room." The german pointed at the doors on the opposite side of the hallway. Had this been any other day and person, she would question such an unethical choice. A defenseless girl with a crazy man with the walls soundproofed. A recipe for trouble.

But this is Medic she's dealing with, and she doesn't feel like arguing. Especially not tonight. The Oracle just nodded, said her goodbyes to Falcom, and hovered downstairs.

She passed the lobby, where Hale had moved his 'picnic'. The CEO got the mercs wrapped up in it, and it doesn't seems like they'll be free soon. Then there's the deal with Compa, who said she didn't feel good after the mission so IF offered to walk her to her apartment.

The bubbly, well endowed blonde is another person who worried the Oracle. Whatever happened in that tunnel, it hit the Nurse hard. She'll have to hear it from IF later because the mercs themselves don't know what happened, and then she might have another psychiatric case on her hands. Yep, she definitely needs to rest her processors before getting back to work...

No one seemed to notice the tiny book fairy floating towards the gardens.

Or did they…?

* * *

Despite it being still midnight, Planeptune is loud 24/7, so theoretically a small garden outside is the worst place to clear one's head, but Histoire somehow managed to do just that, disregarding everything else as white noise. However, her solitude didn't last long as she was approached by one of the walking enigmas, Miss Pauling, carrying a book and a glass of wine.

"Uhh… you're Histoire, right? Mind if I hide here for a bit?" She asked while looking over her shoulder, as if something was chasing her.

"That's… right? Why do you want to hide here?"

"Ah, nothing big. It's just Scout's trying to hit on me again…" The assistant sat down on the stairs, setting the book next to her.

"I...see? Well, I don't mind your presence, I'm just here to calm down a little myself. Tonight was a mess..." 'It's already too much for me to think. Let's just roll with that excuse.' The Oracle thought, locking her eyes with the assistant's and giving her a smile. "Before I say anything else though, I must thank you for your and Mr. Hale's help, you saved us when we were in a pinch."

"That's just Hale's thing. He just can't turn down a good fight, but it got us where I needed." She dismissed her kindness, dipping a fingertip into the drink and looking at the wet nail. Whatever she saw seemed to satisfy her, but the drink remained otherwise untouched.

The woman's last sentence confused the Oracle though. "Where you needed?" She parroted, causing Miss Pauling to scratch the back of her head.

"Yeah, kinda. At first I just wanted to get the mercs out of here, but now... I think we'll stay to help."

"Really?" Her confused look turned into more hopeful one. This was a bit too convenient, but she won't turn down additional help, especially when she and Mr. Hale seems to know the mercs and the latter is powerful enough to defeat an upgraded CFW nearly effortlessly!

"Well it's not like we have anywhere else to go and- ugh, almost forgot. Want some?" She offered the glass of wine, but Histoire hesitated.

"I don't think I should..."

"Oh it's fine, I only got this because I thought you'd need it. It's been a really rough day for you, right? Trust me, I know how _that_ feels, this will help." Miss Pauling pressed on, obviously set on making Histoire help herself.

"Hmm… If you insist, m-maybe a little bit." Using her two noodle-like arms, Histoire grasped the glass and carefully drank the sweet crimson red wine. To Miss Pauling the scene was rather amusing, since the Oracle was just barely bigger than the glass she's drinking from. In fact Miss Pauling tried to hold the bottom of it while killing the giggle before it peeks out, but a small shake of head from Histoire said that she got this one.

"Ahh…" The fairy separated her lips from the glass and gave back the rest of the drink to Miss Pauling who took it while stifling a smirk. "Only half?" She remarked, setting the glass on the floor next to her.

"This is just a little rest. I don't need a hangover on top of all the problems I already have."

"That's true. While we're here, do you mind if you could explain what's going on here though? I'd ask the mercs but Hale's keeping them busy. He got really ecstatic when he found Sniper, both of them are Australians after all and Sniper is pretty famous in his parts."

"The Mercenaries didn't fill you in?" Histoire questioned. She thought that would be the first thing they would do.

"No chance until Hale's done with them. For some reason he doesn't like when someone interrupts his stories with 'useless things'." With an annoyed expression she made air quotations to emphasize. "That's why I'm asking you."

"O...kay?" Was Histoire's unsure response, then one detail occurred in her mind. "Wait, Sniper is famous? Like a celebrity?" She doesn't know why she actually suggested that... How can a hired killer even expose himself to the public eye? Though an assassin leading a double life isn't unthinkable, the Sniper never looked the social type...

However Miss Pauling just inhaled some air through her teeth while shaking her head. "Not… exactly." In a pretty dramatic way, both girls heard the conveniently sudden commotion happening in the lobby, hearable thanks to the slightly opened doors.

" **COME ON! FIGHT ME!** "

"Help! I need some help! C'mon mates, help me!"

" **Oh, don't be a chicken! C'mon! 1-on-1!** "

"Piss off, you bloody gorilla wannabe!"

Hale's roar and Sniper's pleas for help send a bead of sweat rolling down Histoire's face. Should she intervene? Though by the sounds of crashing, shattered glass and other sounds, she was already too late and the lobby is now in total chaos. While Histoire grew concerned, Miss Pauling just released an annoyed groan. "And I just hope that he won't destroy the entire building. _Again._ "

"Should we… interfere?"

"Nah, they're big boys. They can take care of themselves." Miss Pauling waved it off, but her hand weirdly stayed midair for a moment. "But yeah, how about you get me up to speed on what happened since the mercs arrived. It might help you clear your head and I'll know where to assist. Win-win."

Histoire looked at her face for a moment, before giving in with a small sigh. "Where do I even begin…"

* * *

"...And then as I was falling towards the earth at terminal speed, I was lucky and spotted an endangered eagle flying nearby. I thought to myself that I could use that noble creature and glide safely to the ground, but that did not turn out to be the case!" Soldier dramatically gasped, fully taken by Saxton Hale's adventurous adventure! (Yes, from now on this is going to be grammatically correct because Hale said so. Don't question it.)

The rest of the mercenaries also listened in, after seeing their teammate being challenged for leaving, no one else wanted to share the same fate. But unlike Soldier, their state of attention varied greatly, with the least caring being Sniper and Spy. The former sat in the corner with the Medi-Gun healing him and used this time to sharpen his kukri, his knuckles providing a fine substitute for the sharpening stone. This knife is the only thing between him and Hale, because there aren't any bushes far away to hide in. He was pissed off that Hale and him are going to have to share buildings from now on… He had enough of him back when he lived with his parents in Australia, it didn't help that the CEO knew his father and would sometimes visit that old bastard.

His lips spent each moment silently mouthing curses, insults and other things that you should never, EVER, say in front of your momma. Screw the party, he and everyone else wants _to goddamn sleep._ It's 3 in the bloody morning!

"As my body weight was too much for the Eagle, he also plummeted right with me. Through the skylight of my office right at Mann Co. Headquarters!"

It didn't help that his every story turns into a Mann Co. advertisement. Urging and even threatening them to buy more hats from his hat company.

Sniper and Spy shared a look. It was only for less than a second but still enough to carry the whole conversation between them.

Spy: Bushman. You've been sharpening that knife for 4 hours already…

Sniper: That's a 'kukri', not some goddamn 'knife'!

Spy: Same thing. Why don't you catch-up with our former employer and let everyone else get some rest? You were once friends, yes?

Sniper: Piss off, frenchie! I ain't moving from here. Why doncha' just cloak away if ya wanna leave so bad!

Spy: If you forgot, that brute is too stupid to fall for disguises or cloaking. He'll spot me immediately.

Sniper: Tough luck, maybe without your little toys you'll finally grow some guts.

Spy: Autant pour toi. Without any bushes to hide in, you're in the same predicament.

Sniper had no remark to that, so they left each other to their own devices, with Sniper continuing to over-sharpen the blade while the frenchie read one of the older issues of 'Dapper Cadaver' magazine. About the 102nd time.

If he finishes it for the 103rd time he _will_ disconnect himself from Re:Spawn and open that cyanide molar.

However it turns out that he won't have to do that, as his salvation came not in the form of death, but of Falcom with an empty plate and a passive "Can I get seconds?" She pushed the empty plate to the CEO, interrupting his story about something like Mann Co. Customers designing better stuff than Mann Co itself. (See: Bidwell's Big Plan)

"Can you? Of course you can! There's no greater food than freshly roasted steak!" The Australian (and the mercs' torturer) laughed, taking the plate and filling it with tasty things.

"You know, I think the Guild could use a man like you. The monsters are getting stronger but you seem to be able to handle them." Falcom idly commented, the adventurer could already imagine the receptionist's reaction when she sees him. The woman would be either terrified or ecstatic. Maybe both.

"The Guild? What's that? Oh for the love of- please don't tell me it's an _another_ hippie convent!" Saxton Hale _cringed_ , memories of Woodstock plaguing his mind. He was sure that he did the world a favor by firebombing that hippie breeding nest.

"What? Um... No?" 'What even is a hippie?' She mentally questioned, hearing that weird name for the first time. "People can request help at the Guild, with adventurers completing them for rewards like money. You just take and complete the posted jobs and get paid. There are even lots of monster extermination jobs which sound right up your alley-!" Out of a sudden, Hale grabbed her by her shoulders, spooking the adventurer. The Australian stared hard into her confused orange eyes. The room was quiet, no one but the Author could predict the CEO's next move.

Which was breathing hard in anticipation. This could be that one moment for him, the moment he was waiting for his entire life. "Are you telling me what I sincerely pray to god that you're telling me? I can punch animals into extinction, and get _paid_ for that?"

Falcom didn't know how to respond. Is this even normal for someone to feel such glee for killing monsters? Sure she's happy living the life she's living, but in his case… that's more on the unhealthy side.

But she, albeit unsurely, nodded and his eyes widened and the grin on his face grew.

"Okay then. That's me set!" Hale let go of her shoulders and spun around. "Guys, tell Miss Palagi that she's on her own now! Me and- what's your name?" "It's Falcom." "Me and Falcom are going to this Guild place so the party's over." His words were met with a roar of cheer coming from the mercs, glad that their anguish was finally over. All of them stood up and hauled their tired asses upstairs, all of them with an exception of Demoman who drank himself to sleep under the table already. "Finally!" "Oh good, I'm so tired!" "Good night boys!" "Don't forget we're up early, men!" "Wake me up, and I'll stab your throat out."

As for the redhead Adventurer, Hale picked her back up before she could do anything. "Woah! He-hey! I don't have a weapon!" She complained, being carried like a sack of potatoes, to him she was even lighter than that.

"You don't need a weapon, just your bare fists!" The australian kicked the doors open and announced himself to the rest of the Planeptune with a loud " **SAXTON HAAAAAAALE!** "

...And no one saw Falcom ever again…

…

…

…

…

...Until later...

* * *

The doorbell rang, and a moment later a Medic with a sour look opened the doors. "Ja? Oh hello, Frau Histoire. Feeling better now?" He asked, forcing himself to brighten his face up to the point of that business professional smile which reminded Histoire of Kei.

"Yes, I really appreciate the recess, but I won't be able to rest more unless I see Blanc with my own eyes."

He shrugged at her words. "I understand. Here." Today Histoire learned that the rooms in the hotel have locks, because the German just unlocked one to his room, going as far as to hold the doors for her like a proper gentleman.

But if only the room was as good as his manners right now. It was a mess everywhere the eye can see; bird feathers, papers and even glass shards on the floor, with some of the feathers' owners cooing and flying onto a lamp attached to the ceiling, spooked by Histoire's sudden arrival. The fairy could see even some nests in the room, like on the desk for example and... are those broken saw blades she sees embedded into a wall? What happened here!?

But voicing out those questions had to wait, she had to confirm that Blanc is actually here. Fortunately she can see the CPU of Lowee tucked under the covers on the comfy-looking bed. It is clearly the cleanest part of the room, if only because the mercenary swept the feathers… everywhere else in the room. Her dull blue eyes darted to the ceiling, where the device healing the goddess of Lowee was attached. It roughly resembled the medi-gun she saw him carrying, but this one had a beaker with strange, red glowing liquid attached to the lower middle section of the device, among a few other changes. "A new medi-gun? When-?" She posed the question but Medic seems to have already predicted it, cutting her off with answers.

"Zhat is zhe Vaccinator. Ve had it since coming here, but ve just couldn't get zhe opportunity. Zhe other medi-guns just suited better.

"I see… Heh." They still got some surprises. Histoire hovered a bit closer to get a better look on Blanc's face.

She was still asleep, but back in her human form. Her trademarked white hat lay on the small night table next to the bed. Her exposed sandy-brown hair was a mess, seems like no one bothered to comb her hair and fortunately if there were still any wounds remaining, Histoire can't see them.

"She's an interesting case. All burns outside are healed, but vhat interests me is zhat I couldn't check her innards. At all." The german idly commented, looking at the CPU as well.

"Really?" She gave an awkward response. The saw blades and the broken window tells her that she _really_ shouldn't ask how hard he really tried.

...

"Come. On!" The Mad Doctor angrily growled, pressing the circular saw with all his might into Blanc's chest, well "chest" as a wooden board has bigger curves than her, but back to the Medic. No matter how hard he pressed the blade, the bones or muscles won't give in. Surprising for everyone present, that is: Medic, some birds and an unconscious naked woman. It was really fascinating on its own because while the skin and that thin layer of fat gave in effortlessly, he just can't go deeper. His access was denied, like when you use the wrong password. The muscles in fact won and the "durable" blade literally broke in half, with a sound similar to a gunshot both pieces embedded themselves into the wall.

The very suprised doctor slowly looked at Engineer's damaged instrument, then down at the girl, turned his head to look at one of the pieces, and back to the saw.

It took less than a second for him to throw the tool out of the window.

...

"Yes."

"Hmm…" Histoire hummed for a moment, perhaps there is still a chance after all. "Well, as long as they have shares, the CPUs are supposed to be immortal. With enough shares you won't be able to kill or even severely hurt them."

"But Fräulein Nepgear died, and zhe ASIC have most of zhe shares. Zhen how?" Medic argued, but Histoire already had an explanation for that. "Nepgear is a Candidate. Unlike proper CPUs like Neptune or Blanc here-" The fairy motioned towards the sleeping form of the Loweean ruler, "-they can, albeit with difficulty, be killed. As for the shares..."

She stopped for a moment, clarifying the info because even she isn't certain of that. In theory that would be it, but that is just a theory. "I'm not certain about this…" She began, but Medic patiently waited for her to continue. "But it might be possible that her shares reached that very thin line where it's not enough for her to stay conscious, but still enough to maintain the immortality. A very tight range where literally one man could make the difference."

The german stood silent, taking the interesting information. To think that the Goddess' life could literally hinge on the faith of a single man, hah!

'Putting zhe life of individuals in zhe hands of the many. How foolish, and yet… effective.' A city with technology to rival Australia yet lacks the Australium-induced insanity, ruled by two-actually-three people whose lives literally depend on whether the public is happy with their work or not.

None of those lying politicians and presidents on Earth would ever agree to such crazy idea, but somehow this turned out just fine for the rulers of this world. Now more than ever, Medic was interested, even excited. He thought the Candidate's bio-mechanical insides were interesting enough, but an actual immortal being? And all for himself till the morning with no one to interfere. This is very… "Fascinating." He breathed out, stroking Blanc's hair off her face. He must learn their secrets, how they transform, how they stay 'immortal', _what_ makes them immortal. How do they convert their followers' faith into power? What is the extent of their power?

With each goddess he meets, this gets more and more fascinating.

"Ahem." Histy's 'Bad touch! Bad touch!' senses went off the charts and to remind the german that she's still here, the oracle cleared her throat. Only through his self-restraint did he not jump from fright, merely yelping "Ah!" and quickly pulling his fingers away from the CPU's face. No need to worry, he'll have her for the rest of the night. His gaze met hers noticing that she wasn't amused. A protective one she is.

"So if we obtain more shares, Frau Blanc will wake up?" He covered himself with a plan, a simple-yet-effective plan, but those of course were the best ones. Not this time though, as Histoire shaking her head threw that one out of the already broken window. "If we collect shares as we did before, we'll be able to raise only Nepgear and Neptune. I could make Sharicite and transfer our shares directly to Blanc, but I worry that it would weaken Nepgear in exchange. We don't have much shares ourselves…" The blonde Oracle rubbed her cheek for a moment, like just 3 seconds before her fingers snapped. "Ah!"

"You thought of something?" The German asked, sitting down on the chair with a raised eyebrow and a small grin.

"Yes, I do have a plan, but this will have to wait till morning. It's still night and fatigue is starting to overtake me. In the meantime, I trust that you'll take care of her. " She gave him a respectful nod and was about to leave, but Medic had one more topic to discuss.

"Before you leave, Frau Histoire. Do you mind if ve talk about a certain someone?"

* * *

'Oh my gosh, is this for real? This is a goldmine!' Those were Miss Pauling's thoughts. One could imagine her eyes sparkling from delight as the assistant enthusiastically reeled the magnetic tape from her tape recorder. 'The administrator must hear about this ASAP, it's just too important to pass on.'

She was feeling giddy, and for good reason, interrogating Histoire gave her the best leads so far with enough info to put in her first report. It's hard to believe that those mercs of all people were the first to find this place with such potential.

'A whole southern city state in shambles, controlled by a corrupt government. A perfect place for the Administrator to start spreading her influence. That world-wide criminal organization should have more information on Neptulium, that might be worth checking out too.' The carefully extracted tape was put inside a briefcase with utmost caution, she can't afford to damage it, she doesn't have any copies. With the main dish came the appetizer, some sheets of paper she tucked in too, filled with words copied from her notebook-turned-journal. One of them read:

' _Day 2: We finally reached a new "nation" after my partner got in trouble with the authorities. We traveled long through some weird, purple wastelands in the center of the "Continent Beta" but the police gave up long before we even entered them. The road was long but it was worth it, I was reunited with my old red-loving "acquaintances" deep in the forest near the city. My partner and I gave them a hand and offered them to rejoin us, but we unfortunately came to disagreement and they refused, even saying they don't want to be my "friends" anymore. But one of their friends I never met still offered me a room._

 _I just don't know how long their hospitality will last. But that's fine, I already found some potential "jobs" that I could look into after they throw me out. I hope they "pay" well._

Covering the top of with some random travel booklets, the briefcase was closed shut and secured by handcuffing it to her hand. Her first report, she already found promising info to give Helen… She can't even believe it.

With a quick sigh, Miss Pauling grabbed her phone, an oversized brick that Histoire barely even recognized as a communication device. Apparently they have all those miniature things that are supposed to be better. How are they even better? All she needs is just something that can make a call, why throw in some other junk into that.

2 rings passed by before someone picked up. That someone recognizable as a male by his voice immediately stated.

"Hello this is Crummy's Burgers, how can I help you?"

"Good evening, I would like to order a Smoking Special with an extra tasty meat. I'll be there to pick up in 20-oh-30 minutes."

"Smoking...Special… collected personally. Anything else?

"Yes. Do you still order the Number Nine?"

"...Yes. We still order the number nine. Should I add that to the list?"

"Yes. Add to that the number seven. I'll pay when I get there."

"I...see. Have a good night-uh-morning-uh-day-uh… whatever!"

The panicked person quickly hung up, leaving the dumbfounded Miss Pauling with silence. This moment could be compared to when a child told their parents that they're homosexual or for the first time you see someone killed right in front of you. You brain just doesn't know what to do or what just happened.

After a long moment, the assistant let her hand drop down with a heavy sigh. She wasn't used to cooperating with so many different people, especially on high priority jobs like this one. It didn't help that Helen didn't call for an operation of this scale ever since the 2nd generation of mercs grew too old to fight.

The ravenette turned her head towards the window. Despite the late hour there were still big crowds outside, this could play to her advantage as with her purple clothes she could blend in rather easily.

The mercs will probably follow her, no scratch that, Spy will surely be on her tail. That sneaky french won't let such an opportunity pass.

Although she does have the spellbook, and there's an invisibility spell.

With her plan ready, she grasped the doorknob and uttered a quiet chant. " _Barpo Invisium._ "

The effects were immediate as her entire body went transparent, all she could see of her body is her outline, but to anyone else she's completely invisible. Upon entering the hallway she was met with weird silence, broken only by the occasional beeping of a Sentry Gun. Strange, wasn't Hale with the Mercs just a moment ago?

Silently going down the stairs, her eyes saw that the lobby was empty. Only a mess after the 'party' remained; empty bottles, plates, leftovers, seems like the mercs already have breakfast prepared. Oh and obviously a snoring Demoman under the table, of course.

'Where the heck is that buffoon, Hale?' Miss Pauling though, turning her head left and right in hopes of seeing the muscle-headed Australian. But only halls devoid of life were there. It was kinda creepy in its own way, 10, perhaps, 15 minutes ago there was a whole party but now it's all just eerie empty space, with the doors kicked open.

But that made things easier.

* * *

"Who… do you have in mind?" She didn't like the tone of his voice, it had a dangerous edge to it.

"I don't think ve, especially you Frau Histoire, should trust Miss Pauling." Warned the merc, not bothering to beat around the bush or sugarcoat his words.

"Hm?" Medic's weird statement caused a brow to raise on Histoire's head. One could almost see question marks floating around her head from the confusion.

It took a moment for her to realize the context of that sentence, but that didn't make it any less confusing. "But... why? Didn't you all work with each other? By my knowledge, Mr. Hale was even your boss before I hired you." When she talked to Miss Pauling, the assistant seemed like a nice person, helpful and understanding.

"Exactly, because ve know her, ve know she can't be trusted. Her boss is planning on using you, Frau Histoire, to achieve her goals like she did vith us. Sooner or latter ve vill be in trouble."

His words were like a cold bucket of water to her. The Oracle wondered just what in the heck caused such distrust to spark between them. True, she can agree that her eagerness could be a bit suspicious, but she doesn't put a bad vibe to her.

"Well… when I talked to her she didn't seem that bad."

"You already talked vith each other?" Medic raised an eyebrow, but his eyes were narrowed. The merc leaned forward and rested his head on his arms, giving her his full attention.

Histoire closed her eyes in deep thought. It took her a moment or three to actually answer the doctor's question. "Yes." She began uncertainly, but it made Medic fear the worst. "We did talk, my emotions and thoughts were in shambles and she offered me her shoulder to cool off and also vent off a little. Also according to her, all of you failed to explain the situation to her."

It was the german's turn to close his eyes, he leaned back to process all this information. When he opened his eyes all he said was, "But ve did."

"Pardon?"

"Ve gave her a brief rundown on vat ve vere doing here, but it seems zhat didn't satisfy her so she vent to you... Vat vere you talking about?"

Another pause, yet again the Oracle searched through her memory drives for needed information. Said thing took only 3 seconds though. "Let's see… I answered her questions about this world, like the CPUs, the ASIC, the Share System and vague state of the nations. Then we moved onto a bit of what we did ever since I hired you so she can figure out where she can help. She was very eager to hear about our findings-Oh."

-Oh.

...Oh.

Oh.

OooooooOOOHHHH!

The blonde fairy suddenly froze, confirming Medic's prediction. The Oracle of Planeptune realized just what kind of mistake she made and just how much she messed up. Her hands slowly rose by themselves to grasp her hair while her dull blue eyes widened as slowly as she could.

Okay, she definitely failed big time.

Medic noticed her expression, fearing the worst the german narrowed his eyes.

Unfortunately her words confirmed them. "I think I just made a big mistake."

To say that he expected it would be an understatement. After seeing his former supervisor for the first time since coming in here, he immediately knew that they're in for a very tough time. There was just no other alternative.

That doesn't mean he isn't going to release THE Legendary "Dummkopf™" sigh and ask himself where the hell he went so wrong.

This is going to be a pain in the ass...

* * *

'Are all cities that loud at this time…?'

Miss Pauling idly thought to herself, going to her destination with the flow of the crowd. It is an interesting city… so many alien things to her and yet familiar things still find their place here.

It's not too far away. Couple of right turns, then left, and go into the back alley. Easy.

At first glance, you see a typical busy city. Cars hovering above the asphalt, hologram barrier-things keeping pedestrians out of the road. Endless hordes of people trying to reach their destination, creating a river-like flow which Miss Pauling imagines as incredibly hard to break, and absolutely impossible to fight against. The assistant once took a wrong turn and tried to go back, the result was her being pushed onto the floor and trampled till a 'Guild' member got her out.

People suddenly stopped, cars were passing through the intersection and very conveniently she needs to cross the street.

People here are kind, but wary. They'll happily give directions or give advice, but move too close or make them go somewhere and they'll either fight or call a patrolling Guild member, easily recognizable by the abundance and/or quality of weapons they're carrying. All of the kinds too, from melee weapons to magic and guns. She needs to remember that.

The closer to the heart of the city, the louder and brighter it gets. Hence all buildings are soundproof and patrols are wearing ear protectors, relying on their sight. Yet another useful thing to remember, that's how the mercs managed to wipe out all those facilities without anyone catching on. Whenever someone realized what happened, it was too late.

Someone tapped her on the shoulder. She recognized her, the gray clothing, the heart emblem, it is the ASIC. Without any hesitation or waiting she opened a bag of "Arfoire Chips" as she heard they're called. "Would you like some?" she offered.

But if you took your eyes off the main streets and onto back alleys, you'll find something which The Administrator is most familiar and comfortable with. The Underground, where shady deals and rule breaking are the norm, thieves, criminals, the impoverished are everywhere they can physically be. Places where fake lights of justice just don't reach.

Miss Pauling narrowed her eyes at the woman, analyzing her. Good thing she handcuffed her hand to her briefcase. "Don't glare at me like that, I'm just distributing chips. Here, they're free." She lightly shook her bag, showing that she is no threat.

Ask anyone and they'll say that is the place where the ASIC thugs thrive, but so far all she sees in that "Arfoire Syndicate of International Crime" are just a bunch of teenage delinquents trying to cause trouble. But of course she know there's more than meets the eye. After all, the government wouldn't resort to hiring _her_ mercs to fight them if the ASIC were little more than edgy teenagers.

Reluctantly the assistant reached into the bag and took two chips. This was her 3rd encounter with those 'distributors' so far and she's starting to get annoyed by them… Thankfully they were quick to disappear upon completing the transaction. Like this gal who swiftly closed the bag, said "Enjoy your gaming." and disappeared into the still crowd like a ghost.

She wonders how deep that ASIC is going, how tightly they put their clutches around the world. What Miss Pauling is about to do could qualify as declaring war against them, perhaps leaving the mercs won't be such a great idea. They still hold some value but they won't talk to her without a good reason. Perhaps she can get close to their more trusting allies by calling an alliance.

The green light turned into red, and the current resumed along with Miss Pauling, coming closer to her destination with each step.

If the ASIC have more robots like that one in the forest, it doesn't look like the mercs will be able to handle them. 12 of them nearly lost to 1 of these things, and yet Saxton Hale can take it out on his own and still have time to make a picnic. This could be her opening, but of course the mercs will sense that she's planning something, Spy will at least, and that's all it takes. She needs to prepare for that.

It's just around the corner. Should she take a risk and cast the teleport spell? People are openly carrying weapons and no one bats an eye, but a spell is different compared to a sword or a gun.

All she can think of is to not take any suspicious actions until future notice. A risky operation if the Administrator will grow impatient, but there's no other choice. Other people will have to make reports on their own.

Miss Pauling cursed to herself, she won't make it to the alley. If she tried to push her way through all that it would just get herself trampled again.

Having no other options, the Assistant reached out and quietly chanted: " _Ipsum Instantarium._ "

The spell fired a dark smoky orb out of her hand, her lips broke into a small smile when it landed perfectly where she wanted. Not even a second passed before she was staring at the purplish wall of the building. It didn't seem like anyone cared about her.

Yet another thing Miss Pauling noticed during her short stay was that everyone here are dependent on video games. You can buy consoles and games in every store, with hacks and illegal mods just a few words away. Yes, words. All you need to say is "I want an Arfoire Chip." and every person in a 2 mile radius will gladly give some to you.

Walking deeper and deeper into the back alley she was met with the familiar dread on her back. A place where fake lights of justice aren't able to reach. Out of nowhere she was surrounded by 4 similarly clothed men, trench coats and fedoras, with Tommy Guns in their hands and their barrels pointed at her.

But despite her being at a grave disadvantage, Miss Pauling felt no speck of fear inside her body. In fact, she felt comfortable. "Where's Bidwell? I have a report to the Administrator and I need the refill." She kept her voice firm, daring them to try anything funny. All they need to do is pull the trigger and Helen will make hell out of their lives.

Not a moment later, another figure approached from the darkness. Him. A young man with short, raven black hair and matching eyes, wearing a chef's apron with Crummy's Burgers logo and a hat. "So you really _are_ a fast food chef!" Miss Pauling remarked, noticing that those 4 guys disappeared somewhere.

Bidwell meanwhile wasn't so happy about his predicament. "From right hand of a multi-billionaire to making burgers in a fast food joint. I hate my life…" He released a sigh, pretty exhausted one at that. He gave his spatula a whirl, letting Pauling know that he in fact has one. "Please, at least tell me that Hale's okay."

"You're talking about Saxton Hale, you know." She deadpanned, before looking down at the handcuffs securing the briefcase to her hand. She easily opened them with the key hidden in her hair and gave the chef the reports. "Here, send those to the Administrator pronto."

"Can't you do it?" Despite the question, he still accepted the briefcase. "You're her right hand after all."

"I'm already under suspicion, I can't risk compromising the operation, I'll need to fall off the radar for a few days." Bidwell's eyes widened from shock, forcing Miss Pauling to explain things quickly. "In short: Hale screwed up and we were chased by cops, but we found the RED team, who now suspect me because I screwed up, but I managed to get very juicy intel from their new employer and with some luck and persuasion I'll be able to stay for a moment and milk as much as possible before getting out. Also, I used the syrup and I need a refill." She took out her book, which was actually an assassin cabinet to store poisons, or in Miss Pauling's case, materials helpful for interrogation, cleaning crime scenes and disposing bodies. The assistant took out a small, empty bottle and also gave it to Bidwell.

"Not only I got the short end of the stick then. " The former Hale's right hand noted, reaching out to one of his pockets and giving Miss Pauling a completely identical bottle, but this one was filled with colorless liquid. Plus something else…

"A Dead Ringer?" The ravenette spoke, examining the gold pocket watch with curious eyes. She pressed the hidden button and yes, this is the cloak watch alright.

"Well, it seems like you'll need it. Don't screw up." He gave her a glare, and she matched it with equal power, gripping the watch tightly. Those two equals knew how dangerous the game they're playing is, they know the risks not only for themselves but for everyone here, yet they still march on with raised heads.

A small nod out of respect, and the meeting was adjourned. With the date unknown, but both of them know they'll meet again.

* * *

Fortune smiled upon him. The receptionist didn't lie, his answers lay within his grasp. At the other side of the teleporter was an empty room, white walls with very expensive paintings decorating them, marble floor with a very expensive bench made out of gold and bright red pillows for comfort.

It was the lobby to Hale's office, with the doors right in front of him, a mere few meters away.

It was devoid of people, only his Engineers were present and had already secured the doors with two level 3 Sentry Guns.

Gray Mann stepped off the teleporter, then Olivia appeared next and then his army of robots right after. He had to wait for them to gain the strength of numbers, he doesn't know what really lies right behind those doors. It could be anything, even those 9 brutes.

After a satisfactory number of robots were at his side, he gave the order to breach.

As expected, the doors were locked, but that posed no trouble to Robo-Heavy. A wave-worth of robots flooded the office with Gray Mann calmly following them.

Fortune really smiled upon him, his target was there. The light tan and salt-and-pepper hair were unmistakeable. He had the Ambassador in hand and was pointing it at the old man. "Mr. Reddy." He greeted, indifferent to being at gunpoint. After all, he's smarter than this.

"Mr. Mann." He greeted back with cold voice, swallowing hard. "I'm afraid that Mr. Hale is on a business trip and won't be available, can you please come back at a different date?" He spoke with fake politeness, trying to appear confident. Unfortunately Gray Mann sees right through him.

"Such a shame."

The CEO of Gray Gravels took a step forward, causing Reddy to tense. However before he could do anything he heard someone uncloak behind him. The accountant turned around just in time for Robo-Spy to tackle him onto the table. "I'm afraid not!" The machine wrestled the gun from the struggling man's grasp.

"Because me and my colleagues can't afford to wait, Mr. Reddy."

With the adrenaline coursing through his veins, Reddy tried to kick the bot away with all his might. However even with the wonders of adrenaline, the machine proved itself to be physically superior. The struggle went on with the human clearly losing but suddenly the machine stopped and released the human, cloaking out of sight with the Ambassador. With the immediate threat gone, Reddy panted in exhaustion. But he wasn't out of the woods yet, right in front of him, with only the desk separating them was Gray Mann, with his army of robots waiting in the back, too many for him to handle even with the Ambassador…

"I know you're a smart man, Mr. Reddy, so I have come with a proposition. For you only." Gray Mann gave him a moment to consider and calm down, of course even if he declines he'll get answers out of him one way or another. Reddy can either pick whether he wants the carrot or the stick.

"What do you want?" The accountant shoulder's tensed. But he allowed himself to unwrinkle his suit and fix his tie. He didn't like it, whatever that old man wants it'll surely bite him back.

Instead of replying immediately, Gray Mann reached into his suit and pulled out a fat stack of cash. He sets it on the desk and pulls out another, and another, and another. Like a magician pulling an endlessly long handkerchief. Reddy watched the rising stack of green paper with a perplexed expression.

"2 and a half million dollars, right here for you to take it, and all you have to do is answer a few questions."

He swallowed yet another hard lump. A deal with the devil, some cash for betrayal, hell no. But something tells him that he doesn't have a choice… Gray Mann read the rising hesitation on his face, and decided to wash away said uncertainty. He's here for answers, and he won't be denied. "You have a family, right? A wife, son and a daughter. With a nice house on Ashley Hill in Wexford, am I right?" That question, that one goddamn question made Reddy grit his teeth, this scoundrel played that card on him.

"You…" He made a low growl, earning a small, annoyingly smug smile on Gray Mann's face.

"Would it be a shame if-"

"You're bluffing!" He shouted accusingly, although to the old man it sounded more like an act of desperation than a rebuttal. Score to him. "Y-You're bluffing. You must be…" The accountant repeated, this time his voice being no more than a defeated whisper from the broken man. Trying to appease himself with lies. Like a coward not wanting to see the truth.

"Unfortunately I am not, Mr. Reddy." But Gray Mann will force him to face the truth. No other choice. "Your family's safety is in jeopardy. Take the money, answer my questions, and your family will be safe. With both of us forgetting that this conversation ever happened."

Reddy genuinely considered this. He can either betray everyone and help the man in front of him, or keep the secrets safe and sacrifice his family, a tough choice, especially to a father of 2 children... But if he picked option 1 then… "T-The Administrator… she'll know. A-A-And-" He started to break down, but his words gave the old man another idea on how to get under that woman's skin.

Taking a bill from the pile and a pen, he wrote something and showed it to the accountant. "I may have a solution for this. If you help me, I'll provide you with my summer house for you and your family to hide. The Administrator don't know about it and even if she did, it's secure enough to keep you safe."

A ray of hope, his salvation, a way out. That single banknote had the escape route he needed, he reached out to grab it but the note was jerked away from him. "Your decision, Mr Reddy." He narrowed his eyes, watching Reddy's darting to various places, the brain cogs nearly audible. A pregnant silence fell upon them before his lightly tanned lips parted and…

"I-Alright… J-Just close the doors."

That was like a victory fanfare for the last standing Mann. He shut his mouth, reached out and gave Mr. Reddy a firm handshake. Today he delivered a severe blow to the mighty Saxton Hale. This single moment mattered more than any destroyed facility. He got one of his most trusted men on his side and out of the picture.

* * *

Both gentlemen sat comfortably in their chairs. But the atmosphere was by no chance causal, but rather ominous, dangerous. Reddy knew that he's already a dead man, he might as well secure a future for his family.

"...I don't know much of the details, but I overheard Hale talking with Miss Pauling, something about the Administrator wanting to send them both through that teleporter they recovered in the Decoy base. You should know which one, you had it for some time."

"Yes, I know what you're talking about. What of it?" He remembers that thing, but never gave it any major thought. He reverse-engineered it but every robot he sent through simply disappeared, so he disregarded it as not functional.

"So, apparently one of Administrator's Engineers got it working properly, not sure who or how they did it but after they came back she started sending lots of her personnel onto the other side. Saxton Hale, Miss Pauling and even Bidwell were called. I would be forced to if I were of any use, all I can do is count money, and Bidwell was more liked by Mr. Hale and he is also a former heister."

"Mhm..." Gray Mann hummed, soaking in every word of information. He had no idea that this weird thing was working all along. Maybe he'll be able to contact those bots he sent in. "So what are they doing there?" He questioned, whatever the admin wants from that place, he'll need to hurry to get it first.

"I dunno, I don't even know how long this entire thing has been going on. I just learned about this after Miss Pauling informed us."

'And I don't even know how big of a head start she has. It could be small, since Miss Pauling disappeared just recently, but at the same time she could be close to getting whatever she wanted from there...' He thought, all this information was much more than he expected. It still didn't even scratch the surface of what he hoped for, but it gave him new leads, and uncovered new possible angles of attack. This was a good day for him, especially because he got Mr. Reddy out of the picture.

The sole-surviving Mann stood up, he had all he could get from this man. It was time for him to go. "I think that's all I need. Thank you for your cooperation." Despite that, Reddy didn't feel too good. He made a pact with the devil, and the price will come for him sooner or later.

"I'm going to hell for this..." He rubbed his face, his eyes noticing the banknote with the written address and picked it up. He... his entire family will need to hide because of his mistake. His wife, his kids, they'll have to leave their whole lives behind because of him. He's a horrible father…

"Then send my regards to Mr. Hale when he arrives." The old man walked out and headed towards the doors, whatever happens to that accountant is now none of Gray Mann's concerns. He gave him money and a hideout, whatever's next isn't his responsibility. The Administrator will find out about this one way or another and when that happens the accountant will find himself chased to the ends of the earth until she gets him buried in a shallow grave.

What both of them didn't know was that said woman already knows about that exchange.

The Administrator switched the view of one of her monitors and watched Gray Mann trying to calm down Olivia as she throws a childish fit. Mad about having to wait even more. "That's what happens when you don't raise your child properly." She commented with hit of an annoyance, watching her rival trying to calm his child as she throws a tantrum, but the 10 year old huffs and rejects all the sweets given to her.

This is why she hates children. Especially those younger ones...

"You're falling for an obvious trap and you can't control your child, your 'great intelligence' is as poor as your fatherly skills. Let's see how you'll fare on a new playing field, without your company's might or money."

She took a big breath of her death stick, letting it slowly exhale. "I also wonder how you can fare on your own this time, Miss Pauling. Without me ordering you."

On a different screen was the Spectator Software turned on. It showed 12 people, 9 of whom were the AWOL Team Fortress, she already browsed through their files but there was something else. Next to them, under category "Not Assigned" were 3 additional people. Their data packages aren't fully downloaded yet but she can already guess that they're also busy with their own things...

"And what are these morons doing there, hm?"

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Suspicions**

* * *

Bloody hell I finally did it. The episode 1 of Act II is here! Lots happened behind the scenes, with even more of that coming. Sorry for the long delay, I was briefly on break and then I couldn't get myself to write… At least you get a whooping 12079 words of the pure, suspenseful fan fiction.

One thing though, how should I tag this goddamn fic? Only 2 tags are not enough since this is adventure/dark/humor/drama/tragedy thrown in together… Especially the dark part because chances are this is going to be the arc where things gets a bit darker.

And some time ago someone asked me how long this fic is going to be. And now I can finally get you some better answers than 'I don't know'. So while the precise chapter count won't be ever known because I always wind up writing more than I wanted but there are going to be 5-6 Arcs. 1 for each nation and 1 for Badlands with chances of the 6th one being the Graveyard if I really want to turn the epilogue into an entire arc. This entire thing should be between 550'000 to 700'000 words if I'm going to keep the usual word counts.

Reviews:

jiffcef - Yes, I am replacing the storyline with my own one. You won't know what'll happen until it happens.

Samdaman95 - Maybe, maybe not. Wait and see.

Piggyslayer1235 - The moment you steal Mann Co. Tech is the moment you DIE! Don't do that, unless you want to share CFW Judge's fate.

Also how's that neurotoxin air freshener working out for ya?

Gamephreak - You traded sleep for wasting time on my fic? You okay there pal? Sleep is nice. You should try some.

Admiral Crow - A lot of comedy ensues, but only after patching up the mental traumas. And I think Uni would rather crush one's nuts than Ram, that brat would prefer freezing you with the Ice Coffin.

I know STblackST but I never heard of Infurno… is he hot? Like… burning hot? A Pyro main?

Super heavy weapons guy - Not bad at all

BreadNotDead - And now Histoire with Gear gets aboard the pain train! With Gear being a returning customer. Poor thing, she didn't even realize what was going on before it was too late.

Yes, traumas for everyone. Let's go copy the Berserk! And if you think that it's going to get easier then oh oh hoho, I don't think we're reading the same thing. Trust me.

It'll only get harder.

And no Neps 4 Mercs. Too bad, so sad.

~ Harmless Orange


	20. Console

**Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Console**

* * *

"I'm back." IF called out, stepping in and locking the doors behind her. Immediately her eyes were assaulted by the bright pink interior of a small but cozy flat. Aside from the utmost horrible taste of the cute pink walls, said apartment also included pink furniture and other eye-catching details, some of which were more pleasant to the eye, like the giant syringe filled with suspicious liquid leaning against the wall, or the busty blonde nurse lying on the brilliant pink couch.

Seriously, does everything here have to be pink? We get it, Compa likes cute and pink stuff, but this is starting to become pretty bland, don't you think?

But IF doesn't care about whatever crap the author has to say. She actually likes how her friend arranged her home, so the author can go suck it! Until he throws the next series of traumatic events at both of them anyway, he's an ass like that.

But anyway… Hearing the shout, Compa raised her head to see her friend entering her home, and greeted the newcomer with, while tired, still a great smile on her face. "Welcome back." She said cheerfully, while also completely oblivious to the fact that her pair of white undies were unnecessarily visible, a little detail that the guild agent happened to notice while setting the bag full of groceries on the table. The power of upskirt shots froze her gaze, and try as she might, closet perversion decisively won against her common sense and dignity.

Were it anyone else, they would eventually notice where IF was looking and do something about it, while also getting mad or embarrassed. But not our airheaded nurse who felt only confusion from IF's silence and the blood slowly rushing to her cheeks. "Is something wrong?" She asked, snapping the brunette out of her reverie and making her dig her grave by immediately going into the defensive.

"N-Nope! N-Nothing at all!" Guilty as charged, IF instinctively reached to scratch the back of her head, while also finally forcing her green eyes to shift and gaze onto one of the plushies lying on the drawers. Inspecting the cute green creature like it's the most fascinating thing in the world, IF genuinely had no idea what it's even called but it was nicely made at least.

Of course IF's blush would be a dead giveaway, but Compa being Compa only felt her confusion intensify. Oh so pure and innocent, not even realizing how many people had a crush on her. It's almost enough to guilt the author over all the horrible things he's had happen to her...

Almost.

Taking the last attempt at saving her dignity, the brunette changes topic, taking a deep breath to at least partially calm herself down. "Y-Y'know, it's actually been awhile since I've been here. Since we're all basically living in the Basilicom now and all." She stepped further into the room, sitting on the couch next to Compa and letting her lean on her shoulder.

"Mhm. Ever since Ge-Ge came back, we were using those guest rooms every day, and then we were either with the mercenaries or Miss Histoire or getting shares and doing quests with Ge-Ge and Falcom! We were really busy those 2 weeks."

Yeah, only 2 weeks have passed… It's hard for them to believe that so much happened in such a short time. From them saving Nepgear from the Gamindustri Graveyard, to meeting and hiring the merc team, that massacre at the warehouses, getting upgrades… Their 2nd encounter with CFW Judge and her first death...

The memory of her death caused IF's heart to skip a beat, and not in a good way. That neverending darkness… The feeling of being trapped in it with only words as her beacon…

Her first death may have been painless, but it wasn't any less scary at all. In fact, it was even worse. She was given no warning, nothing to let her prepare herself, she was just alive one second and the other it was *Poof*. She's staring at the countdown to her Re:Spawn in confusion…

It put her fragility into perspective, how easy and sudden it had been. And of course, it brought the morbid question to her head, one that refused to leave her alone for a long time while it gnawed away at her mind. What if the Re:Spawn malfunctioned? What if there's not even a countdown to wait for?

And how many times has Engineer died? How many times have ALL the mercs died? A few hundred thousand? A million times?

The Guild agent nearly broke down after a swift and painless death. There's no way her sanity could handle coming even close to scratching the surface of those numbers... And don't even start her on the fact that most of them probably weren't as quick or painless as hers. Chances are she would need to call a therapist or something on her next death...

The brunette's erratic breath was noticed by Compa. Perhaps the only thing she was good for; cheering up her friends when they need it.

No wait, she can also cook. Yeah I forgot. She can make badass pudding. Ignore that last remark, okay?

Full of worry for her friend, the nurse wrapped her cute small arms around the brunette's shaking figure. She was pretty confident that hugs will calm her down, after all it did work on her patients when they were nervous. "There there… it's okay." She soothed, like a loving mother trying to appease her child. Or in this case a nurse trying to soothe another one of her patients.

In any case, IF didn't even realize that she was shaking badly, she was so into her fear that Compa's voice managed to spook her instead of calming her down. The sudden proximity between her face and Compa's ample chest upon her return to reality made her freak out even harder. "W-What a-are you doing?" The brunette stammered, her brain feeling like it just got zapped by the Short Circuit. A part of her wanted Compa to hold her a bit longer, but at the same time she also wanted her to let go so she can freak the fuck out all she wants.

"You were shaking, are you okay?"

A simple question with a not so simple answer: _Are you okay?_ Can she, Compa, Nepgear or even Histoire really be okay after all that's happened? Can Gamindustri even-

Okay, stop, this was supposed to be a light-hearted special episode not Angst 101! Even a Russian would find these questions too Heavy (Ha! Not funny...). I thought it's Nepgear, not Metal Gear! (...And I'll see myself out).

"Yeah. I just… I dunno." She admitted. Not really knowing how else she could say. However her answer (or lack of it) managed to satisfy her childhood friend, who only held her a little longer before suggesting...

"I know, how about some food to cheer you up?"

Seriously? There's only one acceptable answer to that, especially when they missed Hale's 'picnic'.

* * *

Good thing that IF came prepared. The bag of groceries included some take-out burgers from a fast food joint, which removes the need of doing any cooking as they have ready-to-eat food. Although, something surprising revealed itself a moment after Compa unwrapped the aluminum foil. "Huh?" The wrapping contained a logo she doesn't recognize. "Crummy's Burgers?" She read it aloud, "I've never heard of them… Where did you get them?"

"There's a new joint just across the street. I thought 'Why not?' and just bought some to check it out." The Guild agent shrugged, not bothering to question why they were still conveniently open at an hour like this. The brunette took a bite and quickly her eyebrows shot up. "Dish ish gooh achually!" She admitted, her mouth full. This meat, it's… perfect. IF was just at a loss of words from the sheer tastiness of this hamburger. And it's not just the meat, it's... everything! The slightly spicy sauce complementing the taste, bringing out all good parts of the meat. This fresh bun, so squishy… and those vegetables, mmm!

She wouldn't mind getting addicted to these, her wallet can certainly handle it.

At the same time, the Nurse in front of her was also taken in by the taste. The blonde's cheeseburger was just as tasty as IF's. Swallowing the first bite, the nurse released a satisfied sigh. "Ahh~ My taste buds are in heaven…"

The two heroines ate without any conversation going on, simply delighting themselves with the taste of godly fast food. IF can see that new joint becoming very successful in the future, if only because of the quality of their food. They'll definitely come back there again, but with others this time, they need to taste these delicacies.

With a grin decorating her face, along with some sauce (which she eagerly licked off her mouth), IF reached out to take the next burger… Only to find it empty. "Eh?" She set the bag on her lap and rummaged through it, only to find it devoid of any tasty burgers. Her despair grew with each passing second spent on the futile search. As her patience ended, the brunette bent backward and cried out like a wolf howling to the moon.

"Nooooooooooo!"

"IF?" Compa blinked, watching her friend slam her head against the table. What happened? The nurse was confused.

"T-They're gone. The burgers… we ate all of them." The Guild agent whined, and… are those weeping sounds Compa is hearing?

Now she's genuinely lost, she could only sweatdrop and wait for IF to get over it. "A-Aha. S-So that's what you're sad about."

…

Yeah, better let her weep for a while.

The Nurse walked away as quietly as she could, trying hard to not disturb her crying friend. This… well, she doesn't need to do anything, her real pain had already went away and all that remains is… being a drama queen?

The busty blonde giggled at the hilarious idea of her friend wearing an over extravagant dress and a crown with the words 'DRAMA QUEEN' written on it. With her own humor regained, Compa took a quick glance around her home, the same one she didn't visit at all in the span of 2 weeks. Her neighbors must have been worried. But she'll reassure them later, right now she sees that her house is in need of a solid cleaning. There's layers of dust everywhere! Yuck!

But it's 4 in the morning, and even she's tired… Maybe she'll clean tomorrow.

Err… today she means. It's weird to think that it's the next day already. The outside still looks like yesterday evening…

Releasing a small yawn and rubbing some of the tiredness out of her eyes, the nurse shuffled towards the couch. Taking a hold of a hidden grip she pulled on the movable parts until she transformed it into a much bigger bed, capable of holding 2 and even 3 people if they squeeze together, since it seems that her childhood friend will be sleeping here.

Although at this rate, she'll fall asleep on that table...

Shaking her head at her friend's silliness, said Nurse pulled out the bloody-hell-not-actually-pink sheets and pillows out of the drawer, then neatly arranged them on the bed. And then she redid it because that arrangement dissatisfied her, and again because she thinks that IF would prefer the blue one… And again because she may actually want a pink one to match her favorite phone...

She just can't make up her mind, can she?

At least she remembered to make sure that there's enough space for 2 people to sleep comfortably. There's stuff to do in the day, so they'll have to sleep soon.

And Compa's heart broke a little. Her first sleepover at her home and they won't have time or energy to do anything fun...

But that's okay. At the very least they can spend the morning together.

She wondered what their next step will be; Their party is growing stronger, with that big muscled man and that kind raven-haired woman joining them, they can easily handle whatever those baddies throw at them. Compa looks forward to becoming their friend. And of course Blanc too! So they can-

Oh.

Her cheerfulness died down, shooting itself in the head with sadness replacing it.

Right...

Of course. How could she forget in the span of just a few hours...

Her grip on the creamy white pillow shook. At the same time the nurse grit her teeth.

She's terrible, really, how could she forget?

She hurt Blanc.

She hurt one of her friends, it's her fault that she got hurt.

The nurse _threw_ the pillow across the room, anger K'Oing her sadness with world record speed. The poor pillow fell onto the ground with a quiet flop, but Compa's fury picked it as a sacrifice to unleash her anger, kicking it again and again.

And again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again.

And when her shaking legs gave away, she opted for pummeling it with her fists. Anger clouded her judgement and the blonde girl didn't stop. She was angry, _truly angry_.

But not at Nepgear or IF, they encouraged her to do it, but they couldn't know the consequences. She wasn't even angry at the ASIC who captured Blanc in the first place!

No, Compa's anger was directed at none other than Compa.

Fluff fell down like snow in the winter, obviously knocked out by the Nurse's punching. She didn't even notice when the pillow was empty and her fists were punching floor instead of fluff. Hell, she just kept going.

Because it was _her_ stupid idea.

And _she_ was the one to use the Quick-Fix.

And _she's_ the one who hurt the CPU.

If only she didn't try anything then this wouldn't have happened!

'It's my fault. It's my fault. It's my fault. It's my fault. It's my fault. It's my fault. It's my fault. It's my fault. It's my fault. It's my fault. It's my fault. It's my fault. It's my fault. It's my fault. It's my fault. It's my fault.' " **IT'S MY FAULT!** " With a so completely unlike-Compa roar, the blonde girl uppercutted the pillow, sending it flying again.

If she only waited for the mercenaries to arrive, they would think of something.

In her anger, Compa didn't realize that the pillow…

Hit a shocked IF straight in the face…

The Nurse didn't notice the brunette finally getting over the eaten burgers...

Nor did the Guild agent expect her childhood friend beating the stuff out of a pillow in mourning anger...

Both of those things resulted in an awkward staredown where both sides had no idea what to do or say…

* * *

"There… there…" IF patted Compa's crying form, lending her shoulder for her friend to cry out her frustration. For some people her situation could be taken as amusing; she's comforting the same person who consoled her just a few minutes ago.

Sheesh… But how can SHE even help Compa?

Really, her mind is drawing a blank. Usually when someone needed encouragement or a shoulder to cry on, IF let Neptune or Compa handle them.

But now the former is captured… and the latter is the one crying on her shoulder, forcing the job of soothing the nurse onto the last person in the room, who had no idea what she's doing.

Her first time trying to give a pep talk to anyone was for Nepgear… but that was more of IF venting a bit of her frustration out than trying to make someone feel better. And she obviously can't use the same tactic she used before because Compa is even more fragile, and IF would rather commit seppu- sekku- neppu…? Ugh!

Sudoku. IF would rather commit sudoku than break Compa's heart.

No, that still sounds wrong, though. What was that word?

Geez, her shirt sure is getting soaked through… Wait, do tears even wash out!?

…

The brunette mentally kicked herself for her stupidity. Of course it would wash off, you idiot! Those are damn human tears! Mostly water and some minerals!

It still feels weird how wet her shoulder is…

Her lack of basic chemistry knowledge aside, is it just her or has Compa stopped crying?

Yes, in her own minor and irrelevant panic, IF didn't even realize that Compa stopped her weeping to ask something. "Huh? Wha-What?" The brunette's eyes widened a bit from surprise. She wasn't actually sure if Compa said anything or if it was just her crying...

However that doubt was washed away when Compa slowly repeated.

"Hey, Iffy."

Her voice was shaking, to the brunette it sounded like she could break down again any second. Were it any other person, IF would probably wait until they really calm down, she wouldn't be able to talk to someone who might start bawling again after the first word. But leaving Compa, her friend in need, like that was just too cruel in IF's moral book.

"Hmm?"

"D-Do you think Blanc will hate me?"

Nothing could prepare IF for this question. It was just so sudden, like a knife to the back. "W-What!?" The brunette yelped, involuntarily raising her voice. "Erm, n-no! At least, I don't think so?" She stammered in confusion, "Why are you asking that?"

Compa didn't answer however, a pregnant and suspenseful silence fell between them. She just pressed herself harder against IF (which if not for the circumstances, she would've enjoyed a lot). It took a moment before she forced herself to say in an unlike-her creaky voice.

"Because I hurt her. I didn't want that but I still hurt her!"

And she broke again, crying onto IF's already wet shoulder.

But despite her admitting it now, IF already knew she did. How couldn't she? She was there when it happened, and saw the look on her face, but at least it gave her something to work with. So Compa blames herself for the accident which hurt Blanc, now she thinks that Blanc will hate her...

'That's stupid, Compa.' IF immediately thought, biting back a sigh.

But how she can tell her that without being rough about it?

Her idea was good, it's just backfired because of something no one could predict. Hell, Compa even stopped her from recklessly charging in and probably getting herself into a very embarrassing situation.

And even if Blanc was somehow hurt, she's already under Medic's care. There's nothing to worry about, that crazy bastard probably already fixed her. She can even bet with confidence that Blanc is already up and about. Then, even assuming the CPU of Lowee even remembers this whole deal, knowing her temperament she wouldn't have cared, and if all else fails, Compa can just go to her and apologize.

So why can't this airhead see that herself!?

IF frowned at her thoughts, no need to get angry, especially when she's in such a state. She's actually never seen Compa… or anyone really, in this level of grief.

And did she forget to mention that usually it was someone else doing the cheering?

'Okay, girl. Be gentle, be gentle. You got it!' She steeled herself. She needs to do this, there's no other person here so it's all on IF now.

She opened her mouth and immediately regretted it.

" _So, what?_ "

Had Compa not been in her embrace, IF would facepalm so hard that it would crack her skull. First step. It was just the first step! And she already royally screwed up. Her tone sounded way harsher and uncaring than she intended it to be… So much for being gentle but hell, let's just roll with it. It even caught Compa off guard since she stopped crying for goddess' sake.

"Huh?" Compa rose an eyebrow, slowly raising her head towards her friend.

"So what if you _accidently_ hurt her?" She put on an emphasis. "Believe it or not, she's still a _goddess_! Like, one of the strongest existences on this goddamn planet! The ASIC probably put her through much worse than what you did to her anyway. And you were only trying to help, you couldn't have known! It was all a freak goddamn accident, Blanc's not gonna be mad over it, it's NOT YOUR FAULT, YOU UNDERSTAND THAT COMPA!?"

With her mind going into 'Fuck Y'all!' mode, the brunette shook the Nurse by her shoulders as roughly as she could, but still making sure to not actually hurt her. She can't 'gently' comfort a person even if her life depended on it, so she may as well try a style that suited her better.

And it worked, she could see confusion in the Nurse's creamy pink eyes, a preferable alternative to grief. Now let's just keep going before she even gets to say anything.

"Really, that's all it was. An accident. Not even the mercs could see it coming! And despite all that crap that happened, we still have Medic who will fix her... somehow. Let's not get into the details for our sake but he _will_ get Blanc back on her feet. You're his apprentice, you know how he is. Hell, I actually wouldn't be surprised if she's already awake by now."

"B-But-"

"-No buts Compa!" She harshly cut her off, "Shit happened, I know, but seriously, it's all alright, we'll get through so just stop crying for a second, you got that, you crybaby!? If you want to do something that badly, how about waiting 'till we get to the Basilicom so you can apologize to Blanc and live your day normally. But I don't think she will even remember that whole thing."

Pushing the whole 'act before she can act' to a whole new level, IF detached herself from Compa and went to the bathroom, slamming the doors closed and leaving a confused nurse outside.

* * *

Inside the bathroom, the brunette took the deepest breath she could take, and collapsed right under the doors, not believing that she actually did all of that in front of Compa of all people. She meant what she said but usually the brunette would keep those words to herself, not slap them at her friend's face and force them down her throat.

That was embarrassing, cringy… and surprisingly satisfying.

And… what now?

In the heat of the moment the brunette stupidly locked herself in the bathroom, not exactly the best-case scenario because if she went back right now, it will be pretty awkward.

Well, she could always play with one of her phones, but she left all of them outside… OH SHI-

IF's eyes snapped open, panic visible on her face.

How could she have forgotten her phones!

Her 9 precious cell phones, her 9 plastic friends ever since middle school! They've spent so much time together, laughing, crying, shitposting on Neppit and N-Chan…

And now they're gone. Locked behind that wooden, impenetrable obstacle called 'Doors'.

W-What if Compa breaks them? O-Or what if she forgets they're there and accidently steps on them!? Or worse, what if they suddenly run out of battery!? She forgot to bring the charger from the Basilicom!

Now that would be bad!

Scenario after scenario, with each one getting progressively worse, IF's mind went into full blown panic over 'permanently' losing her phones.

What if someone sneaks in and steals them!? Or what if Compa takes them for herself!

The chances are minimal…

 _ **BUT MAYBE!?**_

Suddenly, someone knocked against the wooden wall, followed by a voice, with an angelic tone. It was so soft, so comforting…

So _taunting._

"Hey, Iffy! You left your phones in the kitchen!" Compa called. Despite whatever IF's unstable mind was thinking the nurse had no intention of taunting her friend. "I'm just going to put them here. Okay?" The nurse placed the familiar belt of phone cases on a washing machine, very careful to respect the brunette's privacy in case she was… well. Naked.

Some of you would like if this scene went into that direction, eh? Compa walking into IF, naked in a shower.

After the blonde girl closed the doors. The Guild agent, snarling like a vicious animal, lunged for the phones and checked each and every one, slowly calming down when nothing was missing and everything was intact.

'They must have been so scared.' The brunette sighed, donning the belt around her body, thankful that everything is fine. Fortunately Compa is still too kind for her own health to do anything to her precious children-

IF's form suddenly froze, not out of shock but because of something else. Her eyebrows furrowed into a frown as she gave another look at her belt.

The brunette just called her phones 'children'.

Not only that but shortly before that the brunette was worried about them, a bunch of lifeless objects, becoming scared.

She just personified her phones.

For a moment, IF's face stayed motionless, frozen into a frown while her nose took more and more oxygen into her lungs. Her brain ceased all controllable thoughts until her lungs were filled and refused to take even an iota more of gas, only then did the Guild agent act in the manner which she found the most suitable to this situation.

She chuckled. Her mouth morphed into a silly grin and kept giggling as if being tortured by tickles. Her eyes even watered when it exploded into a full blown laugh.

She just grieved over burgers, yelled at her best friend as a means of comfort, locked herself in the bathroom and called her phones her children. Sure she's joked about her 'relationship' with her phones before, but she never did it sincerely until now! Is it just the sleep deprivation or is madness truly infectious?

But still, she's been through a lot in these last 2 weeks, so she'll take a chance to get a genuine laugh when she can get one.

And now she's laughing to herself in Compa's bathroom. She can't decide whether this was a perfect story to tell in a bar or something to seal away in the dark recesses of her mind.

Her laughter was starting to die down, but her good mood remained. Yeah, she needed that laugh. However no matter how good her mood was, the question still remained.

What now? She's still locked herself in the bathroom.

* * *

After IF's tirade, Compa's thoughts were too jumbled for anyone to read them correctly. All she could do was blink when the brunette bolted to the bathroom and locked the doors. She was actually pretty confused through the entire thing but when the Guild agent pushed her away, the Nurse's brain all but broke. It went to the point where if you gaze into her eyes hard enough, you could even see her soul sending the 'compile_heart_ has stopped working.' error message.

From her perspective, the confusion was very reasonable because this is the first time IF yelled at her in such a way.

Releasing a tired sigh, the Nurse's back fell onto the bed, staring at the ceiling with frown.

People usually yell when they're angry at others. IF also yelled in that angry, scolding tone.

Is Iffy angry at her?

" _It was all a freak goddamn accident, Blanc's not gonna be mad over it, it's NOT YOUR FAULT, YOU UNDERSTAND THAT COMPA!?"_

But then, why would she try to reassure her? Back at the hospital, when someone was angry they'd usually try to shame the other person. They didn't shout to reassure, they tried to put someone below them or just yell at them for no reason. Those people are the worst, always so rude to her and everyone else.

Sure, Iffy scolded her or Neptune a lot, but she never yelled. Except today.

What changed? Was Iffy simply tired?

Is the brunette tired with her constant crying?

But, she can't help it! She hurt her friend.

" _So what if you_ accidently _hurt her? Believe it or not, she's still a_ goddess _! Like, one of the strongest existences on this goddamn planet!"_

The harsh words of the Guild agent still echoed in her mind. Despite being confused back then, her mind slowly remembered the context. But her being a goddess or it being just an accident doesn't mean anything. People are still punished for accidents, on the roads for example. It doesn't justify anything.

" _The ASIC probably put her through much worse than what you did to her anyway. And you were only trying to help, you couldn't have known! It was all a freak goddamn accident, Blanc's not gonna be mad over it, it's NOT YOUR FAULT, YOU UNDERSTAND THAT COMPA!?"_

She just wanted to help, yes. But instead of helping her and easing her pain, she made her suffer even more!

The blonde Nurse turned her head towards the kitchen, where both she and her friend bickered and ate burgers a few minutes ago. A memory so happy and recent, but also so distant.

" _Really, that's all it was. An accident. Not even the mercs could see it coming! And despite all that crap that happened, we still have Medic who will fix her... somehow. Let's not get into the details for our sake but he will get Blanc back on her feet. You're his apprentice, you know how he is. Hell, I actually wouldn't be surprised if she's already awake by now."_

Compa's lips turned into a small smile at the mention of the Medic. Yes, there's no mistaking it, he can and will cure Blanc from whatever ASIC did to her. He's the best doctor after all!

Way better at helping people than she is…

" _Shit happened, I know, but seriously, it's all alright, we'll get through so just stop crying for a second, you got that, you crybaby!?_

But, she can't help it! She just can't...

Crying is healthy. Tears cleans eyes and crying helps to cope with emotional stress.

But society also perceives it as a sign of weakness…

Does Iffy think of her as weak?

" _Shit happened, I know, but seriously, it's all alright, we'll get through so just stop crying for a second, you got that, you crybaby!? If you want to do something that badly, how about waiting 'till we get to the Basilicom so you can apologize to Blanc and live your day normally. But I don't think she will even remember that whole thing."_

Wait and apologize…?

Her creamy pink eyes noticed something. A familiar belt lying next to the bag, with 9 cases attached to them, their bright colors mixed with the pinkish background created a plesant-to-the-eye picture. It is unmistakably Iffy's belt, what was it doing there? She doesn't know, but Iffy is probably worried right now, she loves her phones and would be devastated if they suddenly went missing.

She should return those to her.

Groggily, the nurse got out of the bed and dragged her feet towards the kitchen, taking her friend's belt. It was heavier than she expected but nothing that she couldn't handle of course. Out of curiosity she also gave it a closer look, and noticed that it was also kinda small for her.

Was Iffy always this small? It's hard to tell when she's wearing that too big coat all the time. It is really cute how small she is… in all areas.

She should eat her veggies, it would do a lot of good for her.

The mental image of her friend grumpily eating all the greens filled her with rather weird cheerfulness. While she had no intention of invading her privacy, the blonde girl must make sure that none of the phones were missing.

IF would really freak out if she lost those.

And luckily the brunette has no reason to, as all devices were accounted for! 9 colorful phones neatly put into a case of a matching color.

Again she shuffled her feet, this time towards the bathroom. She was also moments from barging in like she owned the place (even though, she technically does), but at the last moment her brain reminded her about some basic manners. The bathroom is occupied so the nurse can't just enter like that; it's rude, unethical and a bad thing to do!

So being a good and innocent Nurse her grandfather would be proud of; Compa knocked instead of outright opening the doors, basic manners everyone! **IT'S NOT THAT HARD!** "Hey, Iffy! You left your phones in the kitchen!" She informed, just now opening the doors as she announced her presence, but the nurse respected her friend's privacy and opened only enough for her hand to fit through. "I'm just going to put them here. Okay?" There was only one surface close enough she could place that belt. The washing machine. And when the payload has been delivered (with the lack of a huge explosion, completely unsatisfying) the nurse closed the doors.

It wasn't long before a weird sound from behind the doors spooked her. It sounded like an angry growl from a feral animal. "Waaah!" This sound was so sudden that the Nurse yelped in fright and watched the doors with anticipation, whatever Iffy became could emerge any second now...

Any second now…

…

…

...

(See? RED! No wait that's an irrelevant joke!)

After a moment of silence, an actual silence, not the song made by Streetlight Manifesto, more voices came from the bathroom. But these weren't any growls or snarls. It was a chuckle, a heartfelt giggling sound came into Compa's ears.

Glad that this was just a false alarm, the blonde girl released a sigh of relief. This isn't good for her poor heart!

But it's still good that even separated, they can still goof off like in the good 'ol days.

However she's very tired, and the sun is already rising.

Another sigh left her mouth, this time out of sadness that she couldn't spend more time with Iffy during their sleepover. All she can do is hope that they'll get another chance.

* * *

Compa and IF ended up sleeping separately.

The Nurse, constantly nagged by her tiredness, slept peacefully and comfortably in her bed.

The Guild agent however, fell asleep in the bathroom without realizing.

The cold tiles don't make a good bed, so the Guild agent woke up pained all over.

They didn't get much sleep neither, thanks to the sun.

Although they still got much more than the mercenaries...

And so the story continues.

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Console**

* * *

You know. If I didn't cut it here. I think I could continue writing this one until it's as long as the previous chapter. At least. And this was supposed to be a short special celebrating me getting to the Arc 2. It only took me over a year, woohoo!

So yeah, enjoy this IF/Compa focused, bitterly-sweet, with rushed ending, over 5k words chapter.

And you know guys. 1 more review, and we're hitting the 69 milestone ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) - (That's supposed to be a lenny face in case the site doesn't allow them)

And before anyone asks. Yes, I am aware of Jungle Inferno update to the TF2. I just need to figure out how to put the newly added stuff into the fic, so yeah, Pyro is getting a jetpack and will also receive some screen time when twins arrive.

Responses:

\- Samdaman95 - You misinterpreted me (which is understandable, considering my choice of words). The arc itself isn't going to be dark, hell this could be one of the lighter ones due to planned presence of twins (But on the other hand, I could also turn that dark very quickly). HOWEVER! The consequences of character's actions are also going to make themselves known in this arc. With some of the red flags being familiar if you managed to finish the Re;Birth2. (*wink wink*)

\- Piggyslayer1235 - You know, this is starting to get kinda boring.

\- Harmless Orange


	21. Good Luck and Bad Luck

_From this chapter onward, every weapon is going to use the stats from Jungle Inferno update._

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Good Luck and Bad Luck**

* * *

"And so, he falls. Again I might add." CFW Magic remarked, exactly at the same moment she and the other Felons felt their loud and violent comrade die. All 3 remaining CFWs were waiting in their hideout, deep in the Gamindustri Graveyard, curious whether the recently upgraded Judge would be enough to stop the CPU Candidate, but it seems like that child has won.

Magic found that strangely amusing, actually. He was trying so hard to get his revenge, but fell short at the last step.

"Eh? He lasted longer than I actually expected." CFW Trick commented boredly, he had expected CFW Judge to fail even with his upgrades, although it came later than he expected. Maybe the escapee wouldn't be as much of a problem as he perceived. "That Candidate must not be as strong as we thought she is."

"His recklessness shall not be missed, he was given a second chance and he still hasn't learnt anything. He should be ashamed." The CFW Brave shook his head in disappointment, he was a fool for having a shred of hope that CFW Judge may succeed. "However, weren't we supposed to not let any other CPU escape? Wouldn't this impede our plans?" His questioning gaze fell onto CFW Magic, the one who thought first about using the Loweean CPU as a bait.

She gave no reply, instead opting to caress her lower lip with those oversized and sharp nails she has. Her golden eyes stared at Brave with indifference, despite the robot's patience growing thin.

After a moment of silence, she finally answered, shrugging.

"Trick was the one who wanted to get rid of her. And trade her for the Planeptunian CPU." Despite getting an answer, it only made Brave even more confused. They ditched one of the CPUs only because Trick wanted to? Why? Why didn't they inform him of this!? The robot failed to think of any logical reason for this, but that's why he kept silent. To give them a chance to explain themselves. "You take it from here, it was your own idea." She continued, passing the responsibility on the lizard.

Surprisingly to some, speaking about the reason why made the lizard looked genuinely sad, as if something drained all of the joy out of him. "She wasn't a cutie like her little sisters. She looks young and cute but deep inside she was just an ugly and disgusting adult." He shuddered at the memory. He tainted himself by doing it with a filthy old hag like her… He cannot wash off that impure sensation from himself.

Why couldn't CFW Magic give him those Loweean twins instead? He would care so much more about them. Spend time with them, feed them, protect them, _lick them_...

"And you released her only because she didn't suit your tastes?" CFW Brave deadpanned, the machine too shocked to respond in any other way. This reptilian degenerate possibly compromised their entire work because of something as trivial as not being satisfied by… _doing_ _that._ With her.

Another thing which really ground his gears was how CFW Magic looked unbothered by this. The Reaper was scratching her neck, looking bored, she wasn't showing even a shred of anger or any other emotion. She was truly and utterly indifferent to all of this.

Feeling Brave's gaze onto her, Magic confirmed everything Trick said. "He did." And as Brave's rage meter went from 0 to 100, she added. "But Trick made sure that she will have her uses once she wakes up, right?"

Something occurred inside the lizard's head, as if Magic's words reminded him about something. "Yes." Releasing a heavy sigh, he admitted it. Remembering the vile thing he did to her. He wasn't proud of it, he wasn't happy about doing it, but this was the only way to get Magic to agree.

Facing the Reaper, he wept, crying his eyes out for a cause only he understands.

"I didn't like doing it, you know. I'm a purist! I only like the young cuties... Now it's all over… Over because of a loud and saggy old woman disguised as a cutie-pie!" CFW Brave could only watch the lizard with some sort of pity. Not because he felt hurt but it was something more of 'You're a horrible being and I pity you.' The lizard would not get any sympathy from him, only pity.

"But yes, I made sure she won't cause any trouble _and_ that she may be useful to us." He spoke between sobs. It's kinda weird and awkward hearing and seeing him cry, at least to Brave it was. But as always CFW Magic was indifferent to it all.

"I regret asking…" Brave murmured under his breath, turning away from this shameful display. A member of Four Felons shouldn't cry, even faking or as a joke. It brings shame to them as the leaders of the Arfoire Syndicate of International Crime.

"Curiosity killed the cat, as goes the saying." Magic suddenly remarked, eyeing Brave with a smile which says that she heard what he was musing. The machine dismissed her before changing topics. "Right. What about the other CPUs?"

"Keep them hidden." Was the Reaper's immediate order, leaving nothing to misinterpretation. "Preferably somewhere deep underground, so their Share energy is much harder to detect and pinpoint." She added, knowing very well what the Oracles and the Candidates are capable off. "Also, since we're on the topic. Trick, any plans on doing the same thing to the other CPUs?"

Hearing that question, CFW Trick stopped weeping to make gagging sounds, as if the sheer thought of it sickened him. "Blech! No! No! Never!" Feeling the bile building in his stomach, the lizard kept refusing.

"Then I'm going to keep my CPU hidden, away from the prying eyes of anyone else." Brave declared, getting ready to depart to continue his work in Lastation but Trick found something funny in his statement.

"Your CPU, heh? You fancy one of those hags?" He teased with a chuckle, his humor coming back after the trauma he caused himself by remembering that…And he suddenly shuddered again.

But the other CFWs didn't share his humor, with Brave getting slightly annoyed by his suggestion. "That was simply a figure of speech, I plan to do nothing but keep her away from the others." His tone had a bit of edge to it, something that Magic has never heard before, it intrigued her actually. Although this could be written off as him simply being salty over releasing a CPU. "Now, if there's nothing else left to discuss, I'll be leaving, I have work left to do in Lastation." The Felon waited for any of them to stop him, but instead all he got was a dismissal from Magic.

"Nope. Go ahead, you're free."

* * *

To some people, today's morning was beautiful. After the rainstorm yesterday, a rainbow enriched today's clear, cloudless sky, as if a sign of Mother Nature's mercy and kindness. Not only that, but the air was also perfectly cool, not too hot but not too cold either. It was like Gamindustri itself was happy about the successful rescue operation.

And then there are people like Spy...

Down to a single second, the time between the mercs going to sleep and the current moment were apart only by an hour, 23 minutes and 41 seconds. In layman's terms Spy was asleep for less than an hour and half before Soldier decided to be a douchebag and wake everyone up, starting with the mercenary from the baguette's country-of-origin, France.

"Wake up, Spy! We overslept! Get your frenchie ass up and out to training!"

The american yelled at the top of his lungs, repeatedly and simultaneously smashing the doorbell and pounding directly on the doors. It wasn't long before the spook's eyes snapped out, completely bloodshot from the intense anger he's feeling right now. Ce macaque dégénéré just can't shut his mouth and not bother him for a single goddamn day?

Spy never felt more justified to do this.

He kicked the doors open, his pissed off gaze digging holes into that american swine's stupid face. Soldier even dared to flash that idiotic, satisfied grin toward him, pushing him over the edge even further.

"Good morning-!"

Was all he managed to say before Spy shot him, thrice. The first shot hit him in the forehead, dealing critical damage, and then 2 following gunshots hit him in the chest and finished the job.

Before Soldier realized what happened, his lifeless body fell to the floor.

Spy blowed the smoking barrel of the Ambassador. "And don't bother me again, you sluggish simpleton." He snarled in anger, furious that this... imbecile, dared to take his sleep away.

Not wanting to drag this out, he closed the doors and placed a sapper on the doorbell, preventing anyone else from disturbing him.

Today is just going to be a _glorious_ day. Sarcasm intended.

As the Spy closed his eyes and went back to his very-deserved sleep, Soldier felt his anger build up. He makes sure that they exercise, stay healthy and on top of their form everyday and this is how they repay him!? With bullets!?

Oh he's so mad right now.

"I'm going to choke that white-flag waving maggot with his own cigarettes…" Growled the recently respawned mercenary, taking the Beggar's Bazooka and the Disciplinary Action from the locker.

But upon reaching the lobby, his rightful anger cooled off completely. The reason was a bunch of suspicious Mann Co. crates littering the entire room. "What?" He let out in confusion, turning left and right. He could not understand why there are so many Mann Co. supply crates here, they weren't here before. Those boxes even covered the Sentry Gun protecting their home.

Who was in charge of taking out trash this week?

Before he could decide to turn this week's janitor's ass into a pounded pile of crap, Miss Pauling spoke out of the blue, catching his attention. "Um, Soldier?" The assistant descended the stairs with the same confusion the mercenary feels right now. "Why is the lobby cluttered with Mann Co. crates?" She asked, feeling genuinely confused. "Also, do you know where Mr. Hale is?"

"Good morning, Miss Pauling!" The patriot greeted with a salute, his weapons leaning against the wall. "I'm afraid I know nothing about the culprit of this." He dropped his salute to stand perfectly at ease, namely with his legs apart and hands behind his back.

"Mhm…" The assistant hummed. "And where is Mr. Hale?"

"Saxton Hale left with Falcom to do some missions submitted by the Guild! He gave orders to inform Miss Palagi that she's on her own before he left." Informed the patriot.

Hearing this, the ravenette nearly tripped and fell from surprise, but she saved herself at the last moment by grabbing the handrail. "He- WHAT!?" She yelped, staring at the Soldier for confirmation.

And he did.

"Yes! From this day forward, Miss Palagi is supposed to work on her own. But I don't know how she looks like or where she lives..." Soldier scratched his chin, thinking as deep as his peanut-sized brain could. "Finishing this objective may be harder than I thought, actually…" He murmured under his breath.

He looked at the Administrator's assistant and his former supervisor. Someone of her standing would surely know Miss Palagi, maybe if he asked her for help then he could… "Miss Pauling?" He spoke. But the woman was unresponsive, as she was busy gritting her teeth and fighting back a headache. 'Damn it Hale, You're going to screw up this whole mission…' She thought.

"Miss Pauling, hello?" Repeated the patient Soldier. Only after the 4th time did she sigh and replied, her tone resigned. "What is it, Soldier?"

"I need help."

She can kinda expect what he's going to say, call it an intuition after all those years of working with them. "Yeah? With what?" The ravenette rubbed her forehead. Here it comes...

"I need to inform Miss Palagi, but I have never met her in my entire life."

Just as predicted, Soldier was still as much of an idiot as he was before. "Yes, yes. I'll go inform her. Just go, I dunno, wake up your team like you wanted or something. I gotta make some phone calls." The ravenette ended the conversation and immediately went to pull her brick out and call a number.

Meanwhile, Soldier gave an abrupt nod and bent to retrieve his weapons. "Thank you, Miss Pauling. I'll be going upstairs now!" The assistant dismissed his words with a wave, like a bad mother letting her badly-behaving children roam free and cause chaos everywhere. She even ignored how Soldier skipped climbing the stairs and just straight up rocket jumped to the higher floor.

If not for the helmet covering his eyes, others would be able to see them burn…

Burn with the flames of freedom.

The patriot loaded the chamber full and unleashed (freedom) hell onto the poor doors that were standing between him and his revenge. The wooden barrier itself actually resisted the combined force of 3 rockets, but its hinges gave up, letting the doors be thrown into the wall after the final rocket.

The smoke covering the doorway blocked the sight between both sides. The patriot tensed, preparing for some sort of retaliation on Spy's part. However as the time went on and the smoke was dying down, nothing of the sort happened.

When the smoke died down enough for him to see, Soldier was staring down at the surprised Spy, still in the bed and wearing his nightwear. The french knew that his teammate would try to wake him up again, but he expected him to be spamming his doorbell endlessly, _not blow the doors off its hinges!_

Moment later he sprung to action, grabbing his gun.

While he was quick enough to successfully grab it, he failed to shoot it, as Soldier's riding crop was faster.

Spy's hands stung from the blow, with his revolver now lying on the ground. "Do you call that a weapon, son?" Soldier pointed at the Ambassador, disappointment dripping from his mouth.

The spook hissed at the sudden and brash assault. Can he get at least 1 day of peace? The merc retaliated by feinting a punch to his stomach while actually going for his neck. The blade of the Sharp Dresser glinted dangerously as it closed in.

But he never reached his mark.

"Somewhere, your father is weeping because of you!" snarled Soldier, holding Spy's wrist, too far away from him to even hope of gazing his neck.

Spy went for a reversal, but a quick jab to his face, and then a knee to his hip stopped him from doing anything meaningful.

And the finishing blow was one of Soldier's modified Judo techniques. The short duel ended with Spy lying on the floor, and the victorious Soldier stood on top of his back. The beaten french stared at his teammate with a venomous look, but the american easily shrugged it off. "And now give me 40!" He ordered, raising his whip to act as a silent threat.

Spy was a smart guy, and knew when he should just buckle up and give up. He realized that disobeying now would only end up with him getting whipped and wasting even more time dealing with Soldier, and this was also one of the few situation where his cloak watch was completely useless. Now he's pinned so this would obviously not work and before then Soldier was blocking his only escape route. All the american needed to do was just patiently wait for his battery to run out.

Or worse, start shooting to spy check him and destroy his room even more.

"Ahem, maggot!" Soldier's heels dug deep into Spy's back, ruining his $4000 nightwear.

Biting back a sigh, which was very hard to do. The frenchie started doing the push ups, struggling heavily due to additional weight on his back.

'You will pay for this…'

* * *

Impatience. That was the one word you could call Histoire's mood right now. She was staring into the monitor of her computer, waiting for someone to answer her video call.

'Maybe it's still too early…' She thought, tapping her fingers against her desk. That nap she had taken was a goddessend for her mind, but her duty as the Oracle couldn't be done by anyone else but her. So unfortunately she had to cut her rest short, but not without some coffee and promise to go to sleep earlier.

The constant ringing sounds coming from the speakers made the fairy think that this was really too early of her… but the news she has are too important to wait.

Although-

Nevermind that, she picked up. Her milky-blue hair and the red hat that rather fits a graduation student instead of an Oracle says that she found the right person.

"Y-Yes? The Oracle of Lowee speaking. Hello?" The Oracle greeted with a sentence she rehearsed so many times, but her features, that is a light-skinned face, and dark-blue eyes with red squared glasses in front of them, morphed into worry upon seeing the Oracle of Planeptune. "Are you okay…?"

Her worry was justified as despite the nap, the fairy still looks like she haven't slept in a while. Her skin was paler than normally, and there were very visible bags under her eyes, she definitely didn't look "normal".

But despite all of that, Histoire still tried her best to give her a reassuring smile. "No need to worry, yesterday was just... chaotic. However because of that, I have brought some very good news for you!"

"Good news?" The Oracle parroted, piquing her eyebrow in curiosity. But as luck would have it, someone interrupted.

"Mina...? Who are you talking too…?" She was familiar to Histoire, and her voice sounded as childish as ever. The speaker then was quickly followed by a different, but also audibly childish-sounding person. "Sleepy…" The two newcomers surprised the Oracle, visible by her widening eyes and tone of her voice. "Ram? Rom? Why are you up so early!?"

Despite her posed question, the girls didn't seem to answer it, opting to latch onto her, blue and pink pajama-wearing girls appearing into Histoire's view. The twins still looked like she remembered them, blue eyes and brown hair, with the pink-wearing child letting it grow much longer than her blue counterpart.

"I'm hungry…" They cutely groaned at the same time. The heartwarming scene brought a smile to Histoire's face.

Mina turned towards Histoire, her face all but saying 'I would like to talk with you, but you see…'. "I understand, we can talk later after you are done eating. And I think that Rom and Ram should also hear this, this is something that would certainly cheer them up."

The Oracle of Planeptune did catch that curious look Mina was shooting her, but the twins seems to not notice the hint Histoire has given them. Call her dastardly but Rom and Ram would be overjoyed when they hear that Blanc is rescued. "I, see… So until then Histoire. We will hear that good news you have for us."

"Farewell."

With goodbyes done, the conversation ended.

A sigh escaped Histoire's mouth.

This was truly too early for this kind of conversation, the night shift hasn't even ended and the Oracle is already deep into her work. A short vacation would be the most optimum thing for her but without her the nation will fall into ruin.

To kill some time, the fairy picked up some paperwork and scanned through them.

As always the first was the daily report on Shares, with Planeptune rising 1%, Leanbox dropping a whopping 5%, strangely enough, Lowee's shares didn't change over the course of a whole week and lastly Lastation rose by solid 3%.

That leaves the ASIC with 1% more Shares than before, Planeptune isn't the only place where the ASIC is so their pincer attack won't harm them in the long run. They'll need to get the cooperation of the other Candidates and Oracles.

The plans to build that lakeside resort where the warehouses once stood has ground to a complete halt. Apparently a strange and worrying influx of monsters made the work hazardous, and the Guild is busy dealing with it and investigating the cause. According to them, something has scared all the monsters from the depths of Virtua Forest and into surrounding areas, now Darkness 60 and the outskirts of the forest possess much more monsters over a broader range of strength, which is troubling for beginner-level adventurers.

Additionally the Guild requests more funding for one of their projects; helping the poor and homeless by recruiting them into adventureship. Giving them weapons, protective gear and a bunch of supplies for free to give them a push and then creating squads of those newbies and assigning them to veteran fighters, so they can grow and learn until they can handle adventuring on their own. Essentially creating something akin to schools for adventurers and monster hunters.

This would certainly hurt her budget, but this would help fight off unemployment and make Planeptune safer in the future… Histoire left this one for later consideration, preferably after she has a bit more sleep.

Reading the next report made Histoire's heart ache. The public was growing nervous about the mysterious slaughters happenings in Planeptune, hundreds of e-mails littered her inbox demanding her insight on the matters. There are even conspiracy theories saying that it was Histoire and Nepgear killing them, as they happened shortly after her rescue and Histoire's brash declaration on the press conference. The sudden presence of mercenaries also didn't leave the public's watchful eye, there were comments about them as well, different hypothesis were created about their roles and how they got so close to Nepgear. Some were saying that they were the ones who rescued her, others that they're a bunch of mercenaries hired to help (she can't help but to be surprised how u/LobsterQueenJournalist nailed that one), or that it was them doing the killings.

All in all… the jig's up. There's nothing Histoire could do to refute those statements if it came to direct confrontation…

If she confirmed everything… how would the public react?

Nepgear's and basically every other CPU's lives literally depend on whether the public is satisfied with them or not. If they suddenly rioted, Nepgear would certainly feel the backlash, and with how low Planeptune's shares already are, it could even put her safety into jeopardy.

"Thinking about this situation, it's a miracle that the ASIC hasn't used our failure against us, they could easily turn the tables if they wanted..."

All the ASIC needs to do to get at Nepgear is to release their security footage from one of the attacked facilities. Histoire knows that Spy is proficient at destroying all incriminating evidence, but there's nothing he can do if they send the copy onto servers outside Planeptune or simply broadcasted them live. It would expose them and leave their fate at the hands of the public.

And when that happens, it would be game over if they started a riot or something similar. Shares would plummet, and Nepgear would share Blanc's fate or even worse.

If Nepgear died from share deprivation, how would the Re:Spawn react to that? Will it just leave her dead? Re:Spawn her only for her to die again immediately?

She could waste centuries pondering this question, the majority of things about the Re:Spawn System and the mercenaries in general is still a mystery to her… Maybe it's time to get some questions answered?

But that is for later. First she needs to wrap things up with Blanc and Lowee, then she needs to figure out what to do with their new guests…

* * *

Being led by the constantly shouting Soldier, the recently woken up team climbed down the stairs. The mysterious crates haven't moved an inch from the lobby, though Miss Pauling was gone, presumably doing those phone calls she said she would.

"Wot in the hell?" With just that single sentence, Demoman summarized the team's thoughts.

"Men, recently someone left these crates here. I don't know who, but we have been given a shipping of Mann Co.-made munitions!"

Yes, everyone could see them, 10 wooden crates in total and all but one was marked with the Mann Co. stamp and a class mark.

No one dared to say anything though, not because they were afraid of interrupting but because it would be quicker if everyone just shut up and let him talk himself out. The sooner they can rest the better.

Although there was one person who didn't want to wait, and was also strong enough to deny Soldier. "Let me pass, Soldier." Heavy Weapons Guy pushed himself to the front, staring down at the tiny american.

"What you want, Comm-umph!?" His words were cut off by the Russian's gigantic hand clapping his mouth shut, then with the next moment the merc was shoved sideways.

Soldier spouted very creative insults at his motherland, family and communism, which fell on deaf ears while Heavy calmly scanned through the room and found a crate marked with his class emblem. He continued ignoring the angry baby crying behind him to walk towards the wooden container. It was tall enough to reach his chest and it seems to be open, no locks or chain holding the lid and also a note was stuck into it.

 _Hey there, Morons!_

 _Do you remember the Mercenary Park? The one where you guys fought each other for our not-real currency to buy hats and War Paints? Yeah, the government shut it down. They told me it was illegal and dangerous to let kids punch deadly animals and that I will pay a hefty fine and jail time for every wound the kids and their parents suffered, like humans don't really regenerate, right?_

 _So with the park shut down, I was left with a bunch of trash that I needed to dispose. I could sell them, but no one wanted to buy this junk so I am leaving it for you, for free! (Not really, but I already stole the money from you guys so I'm fine with leaving them here)._

 _So they're your problem now._

 _ **This just got signed by**_

 _ **SAXTON HALE!**_

 _P.S: Anyone know what are those "Special Surprise Crates?" Their name tag says it's Mann Co.-made but I don't remember ordering anything like those. Someone is trying to impersonate my goods, I won't stand for this!_

 _P.P.S: And before my amazing self forgets; You won't get any free War Paints from me, don't even think about it, and also to that trash I'm leaving you I included new balance changes. Just flip this page to see the full list._

 _P.P.P.S: Hey Demoman! Sorry but I had to take your Eyelander with me, I couldn't find my Dragon Slayer and Hale was hurrying me. This was the only weapon that I could find and matched my fighting style. I'm sorry again but I'll buy you some beer or something._

 _\- Falcom_

Saxton Hale's stamp signing this letter means that it was true, the Australian has barged into Heavy's room to steal his money.

And all he has is that goddamn Second Banana and some hats as a compensation!

He thought back to that Meat vs. Match competition where he got steamrolled by Pyro…

Visibly pissed off, Heavy rips off the cover from the crate; looking inside he saw what he figured he would. Neatly arranged cosmetics items filled most of the crate, 27 pieces of different clothing if he remembers correctly.

And like a cherry on top of a cake, a sole plate with just 1 banana lying on the clothes. His consolation prize he got from the Mercenary Park. His building up infernal anger… was swiftly cast aside by Demoman's shrieking.

"The Eyelander!?" Thanks to his anger, Heavy failed to notice that everyone else had climbed down the stairs and were reading the letters left for them. The Post-post-postscript seems to shake Demoman so much that the scot hurried upstairs without opening his crate.

After him, hell began.

Everyone expressed their reactions towards the recent gameplay changes. The loudest of them was Spy with "He nerfed the Dead Ringer!?" Everyone expected the Spy to react negatively towards the Dead Ringer nerf, it was his favorite cloak watch after all, but this was the first time Heavy has seen Spy's hands and eyes shake so much, it had hit the french so hard that he could shake a drink with those tiny shaking hands.

Flipping the page, Heavy read the list of balance changes casted upon them. Hale has a habit of doing that sometimes, tweaking their gear to make them stronger or even weaker to spice things up. It doesn't make sense to make a weapon LESS effective of course, though the reasoning is simple: It's Saxton Hale, that's all the reasoning it needs. Either way, the list of tweaks was a very long one this time, probably everyone got something changed… And the Russian's eyes shot wide when he saw the balances made for Spy.

While he agrees with the paper that the Dead Ringer was an annoying thing that deserved to be brought down a peg, with the cloak watch no longer rechargeable via ammo kits or the dispenser, but the Ambassador nerf is actually kind of concerning. Now it won't apply critical damage to headshots on longer distances, which could affect strategic flexibility. Without an enemy team to share in the nerfs, negative changes hit the rest of the team harder than before. At least, for those of the mind to care about anything other than schadenfreude.

Still, he chuckled, since he himself got all of his Miniguns BUFFED, now achieving their full accuracy and damage without needing to needlessly fire. The change cost him by making his Eviction Notice and GRU useless, but he can live with that. Nodding to himself, Heavy considers his own changes as 'beneficial', if only due to it making Sasha and his other girls better.

Heavy wasn't the only one who was happy with the rebalances, Soldier in particular was ecstatic right now, and for good reason. "My Righteous Bison got buffed! Yay!" The american cheered, holding a small, retro-futuristic raygun in his hand. He was one of the more fortunate people who got mostly buffs, turning 3 of his once-useless weapons into something more usable.

"It still sucks!" Scunt jokingly called out across the room, with great amusement as he watched Soldier turn his face towards him. The American looked like he was betrayed by his own comrade or that the war has ended and world peace was achieved.

But just as quickly, it morphed into anger. "Shut your stupid mouth, maggot!" Soldier snapped, aiming and shooting lasers at Scout. They missed of course as their intended target retreated behind the foyer counter, which irked Soldier even further. "Don't you dare hide, I'm gonna rip out your throat for this! Ta zniewaga krwi wymaga*!" Roaring like a lion, Soldier jumped onto his own crate and started shooting from there, but even with the high ground Soldier underestimated Scout's power of retaliation.

"Ohoho! See watcha think of this!" The young boy pulled out his changed Pretty Boy's Pocket Pistol and started firing at Soldier, forcing him to jump down and take cover like Scout.

The Balance Hammer seems to have hit Scout heavily as well, nerfing his most effective combo of Sandman and Guillotine and a few other weapons as well, but surprisingly Scout doesn't seem to be bothered with the nerfs, actually he never was. Out of the entire team no one has ever seen him get mad or even slightly annoyed when his stuff got nerfed.

Back and forth, Scout and Soldier shot at each other from behind cover. Despite looking like it, they actually didn't really try to hurt each other, the mercenary equivalent of children having a snowball fight.

That's how cheerful the atmosphere was, their exhaustion temporarily forgotten. Some of them played with their changed weapons like Scout and Soldier, some discussed the recent changes like Medic and Engineer and the sole winner, namely Pyro, was hugging its new weapons.

No I'm serious. Right now the Pyromaniac was embracing his Thermal Thruster, which is literally a red-painted jetpack with Pyro's emblem on the right thruster and an enclosed yellow light on the top.

It was a soreness to the eye for the Heavy Weapons Guy, but he'll be calm. He'll let Pyro enjoy its 4 new weapon. Someday he'll get some new gear of his own.

Sniper shook his head at Pyro's silliness, then faced the most assholish mercenary of them all, Spy, currently weeping salty tears over his Ambassador and Dead Ringer nerfs...

"How's living with yer new _Dead Ringer_ , enjoy the changes?" Sickly sweet words, hiding poison inside them. With a grin plastered on his face Sniper waited for Spy to take the bait.

He did not disappoint.

"Shut the hell up, bushman! Why do all of you idiots think the Dead Ringer was overpowered!? If you'd just take your eyes out of your scope once in a while and watch your back then maybe you wouldn't find yourself with a knife in your back. But nooo, none of you imbeciles could bother to so much as LISTEN for the decloaking sound, you fools need every single thing served on a tray because you can't do it yourself! You're all just amateurs and incompetent cowards-!"

Spouting more and more salty words, Spy suddenly realized that everyone had fallen quiet, as all mercenaries stopped what they were doing to watch him, even Demoman came back to observe the spook from the stairs, his jaw a bit loose.

Sniper struggled to hold himself from laughing, ever since the beginning of Spy's tirade the spook had grabbed him by his collar and his shouting face was inches away from Sniper's own. In fact their foreheads were touching.

Now that it was over, there was just one question an amused Sniper could ask.

"Mate…" He began, not knowing what else to say. This was literally the first time Spy behaved like this… "You havin' a meltdown or something?"

Sniper ended up being punched, but the kick and giggles were worth it.

* * *

Permission to renovate school's old basement. Signed.

Permission to open a small fast food joint in the city mall. Signed.

Police have caught a thief stealing boxes of pudding from a pudding factory. Signed.

Permission to expand an animal shelter. Signed.

Details of a new trade contract between Leanbox and Planeptune. Signed.

Permission to hold a Yaoi Butler Cosplay Convention in the Basilicom. Sign- Wait what?

Flabbergasted, Histoire scanned through the paper again… Yep. Someone asked Histoire if they can hold a cosplay convention. In the Basilicom. Of shirtless butlers. In the Basilicom. Possibly engaging in unwholesome behavior. Yet again, in the Basilicom. Someone went as far as to organize an entire week of it, where people can sleep, eat and defecate, where booths selling butler souvenirs and action figures will be placed, costs of the tickets, how they're going to be distributed and how much the Basilicom will be getting from it…

Did she forgot to mention that this would be held in the Basilicom?

She was at a loss for words. Someone was really serious about holding such an indecent event in the government building. The sheer 20ish-page length of the plan shows how truly dedicated this person was, wasting so much time planning this entire even to the smallest details, calculating every possibility, not even caring about the chance that this might not even pass through Histoire's secretary in the first place.

"Sometimes people are dedicated to the strangest things…" 'Weirdo.' She thought, throwing the results of someone's hard work into the shredder without a shred of mercy…

Having this short break from signing thousands of documents showed just how numb her hand was. This was all it did for the past hour, writing her signature from paper to paper like some sort of copying machine.

She kept going.

But as she finished signing a hunting request to the Guild, Mina suddenly called. Histoire instantly abandoned the document and jabbed the answer button so fast that her pen flew off her hand.

"Thank you for your patience, now where were we?" The Oracle of Lowee asked. Rom and Ram weren't present as Histoire wanted, but oh well.

Mina was oblivious that her sudden call made Histoire lose her pen just now, nor that Histoire will care about this. "That was rather quicker than I expected, but thank you for remembering."

"Yes, although Rom and Ram weren't interested in hearing your news, so it's just the two of us." Her face was apologetic but Histoire kinda expected it. Two lively children probably wouldn't be interested in what growns-up were doing.

"Don't worry, it was nothing big actually. As for the news I mentioned…" Histoire took a deeper breath. Here it comes. "We have rescued Blanc, their sister and the CPU of Lowee, from the ASIC. She's currently resting in our custody."

Silence...

Histoire was met with dumbfounded silence. Mina watched her with wide eyes, not knowing how to react or say anything. It took a full 6 seconds to break through her bewilderment.

"I-I'm sorry. C-C-Could you r-repeat that? L-Lady Blanc is rescued?"

"Yes." The fairy confirmed with a nod. "She's currently resting outside of the Basilicom, but I entrusted her to one of my best men. She's safe."

Understandably, Mina didn't know how to take the news. Histoire lost her at 'We have rescued Blanc' and now her kind and collected demeanor changed into complete confusion. It's as if she just won a billion Credits on a lottery, you just don't know how to react.

"I-I-I'm sorry, it's just so… so sudden. How is she? Lady Blanc I mean."

"Share Deprived, she has enough shares to maintain her immortality but not enough to remain conscious. It would be best if you created a Sharicite, not matter how small, and brought it here to help her, as we alone have barely enough for Nepgear to be healthy."

She wasn't lying when she said that. Unless those Nano-Machines changed the efficiency of how she's processing shares, then Planeptune's shares are barely enough to fully sustain Nepgear. If they used them to create their own Sharicite then it would take its toll on her.

"I-I see." She shakingly acknowledged, slowly calming down with deep breaths. "G-Goodness, who would have thought that I'll manage to see Lady Blanc again after she and the other CPUs ventured into the Graveyard."

"It was a surprise to us as well." The fairy gave a depressed sigh, "But on the bright side, Blanc doesn't appear to be physically wounded." Histy added with a forced smile.

"That's good to hear, but I'm rather curious on how Blanc has been rescued. From what I know, only Nepgear managed to get out of the Gamindustri Graveyard and I didn't hear or see any reports of you launching another rescue operation." Points Mina, showing that despite her shock and surprise, she's still an Oracle in charge of a whole nation.

With her eyes closed, Histoire nods at her statement. "You're right, we haven't. But for some reason the ASIC… I don't really know why. But they challenged Nepgear and her friends to a fight with one of the CFWs. Blanc was actually used as the bait to draw her and her friends in."

"And they just accepted it!?" Mina eyes widened at such foolishness. "I don't know the details, but from what I hear this was an obvious trap, why would the CPU Candidate endanger herself like that? Is she alright?"

"I-" Histoire stopped herself, she was about to say 'I don't know…' but there is no point in telling Mina what happened to her, especially when Histoire or even Medic himself doesn't know what happened. "She's fine, don't worry."

The Planeptunian Oracle felt that the Loweean one isn't buying this, so she quickly changed topics.

"I don't know why they went, I tried to stop them but they were determined to go." The fairy rubbed her face at the memories, sighing.

Soldier wanted to spring the trap just to get few more kills, Nepgear fully believed that they'll give Neptune back if they go, even other mercs like Spy or Demoman showed interest. The plan was generally bad, their Plan B was just a quick suicide to return to Planeptune via Re:Spawn System…

They had no good incentive to accept the challenge and go head first into an ambush, other than to kill more of the ASIC. And yet they did go, destroyed a CFW, and rescued Blanc in return, if only by sheer luck.

"Thinking back on it, I still don't understand why those mercs wanted to go so badly…" She added, rubbing her cheek. She failed to think up even one rational reason for the mercenaries to spring the trap, which was weird since their other moves were pretty logical. Was it simply hubris from their own immortality, making them believe they had nothing to lose?

The blue haired woman also thought similar thoughts to Histoire, but on a different topic. "I'm sorry, but I find it rather hard to believe that the ASIC just gave away Lady Blanc, or any CPU in general. I apologize but I will need to see some proof." She felt a little saddened saying this, but she couldn't ignore this fact. From her perspective, Histoire gave an outrageous claim without giving any sort of proof. Anyone with a working brain would be suspicious, especially so when she asked to bring a Sharicite to her nation.

She doesn't want to be suspicious of other Oracles, but she can't help it in this situation.

"That is understandable. Then if I could come back to you later, with photos with Blanc as my proof, will that suffice?" The fairy proposed with a forced smile. Of course her dizzy past self forgot to make any sort of proof for her plan. Just great.

"That would be great, I'll be waiting until then."

Histoire doesn't even know if that smile was 'I believe you, so I'll be patiently waiting.' or 'I know you're BSing me, but I need to be polite.' It could be either of them.

Her chair creaked when the fairy leaned back, closing her eyes and letting out another sigh.

"Why didn't I think of this…"

Histoire feared for her deteriorating mental state.

* * *

Meanwhile, in unknown parts of the endless Virtua Forest.

"You think he's gonna be mad?"

"Yes and it is totally your fault. I told you not to bring any weapons, that you don't _need_ any weapons, and you took one anyway. Not my fault."

"Well, I'm a swordswoman, not a martial artist."

Falcom and Saxton Hale had a little argument, while being surrounded by many monsters which Saxton Hale had to personally track down to punch them. The monsters were very diverse, varying from some sort of ghosty-thingies and frogs, to gigantic spiders and plants with a lot of sharp teeth, to even a bunch of Grandogoos! Any that's not even all of them!

"Hahahaha!" Hale gave a cheery launch, punching the weight out of the colossal Dogoo. "Even in this new, beautiful world there's still people who can't give a good punch even if their lives depended on it!" His voice was cheery as ever, but the context did hurt. "Those toys are making you weak, girlie, WEAK! Grow up and get some muscle! Oh I know! I'll train you. I'll abuse you until you drop that butter knife and get some grit into you."

"I'll... rather stay with the sword, but thanks for the offer." Falcom sweatdropped at the proposal. Yet another Piranha Flower tried to sneak up on her, but... "Headdd…" The sword Falcom is wielding, the Eyelander, guided her body to swiftly decapitate the threat.

Two more monsters tried to jump from her blindspot, but like before the Eyelander was controlling her body well. Parrying both blows at first, and then retaliating by taking their heads.

Falcom watched their heads fall onto the ground, feeling a mild terror building inside of her. The rest of the monster horde wisely kept their distance, seeing that they can't ambush the adventurer. This actually gave her an opportunity to speak up. "You know, Eyelander, you're kinda freaking me out there… I didn't even notice those two."

Despite her comment, Eyelander was indifferent to them. Falcom could see him shrugging when he answered. "You would be mad if you weren't. I am a ghost sword after all, one of a kind. People are naturally afraid of ghosts."

"But Demoman isn't afraid of you, he even talks to you."

"Demoman is drunk."

No one could counter that perfect argument.

"Right-" She was about to change the topic, but Hale butted in before she could.

"Hey! We were supposed to be having a life-or-death fight, not a talk show! Start killing things!"

Now Falcom noticed that she lost sight of her partner, seeing as she's completely surrounded from all sides, however she could guess where he is by looking at the monsters flying upwards, like a bull ramming through the crowds and sending them flying.

Eyelander, acting like a total tsundere, took offense to that. "I refuse to acknowledge her as my significant other. She's merely my vessel used by me to decapitate everything in my path, and she can barely even do that job."

"Hey! I'm not that bad. Right?" Doubt seeped through her mouth at that last part. That was a heavy blow to her self-confidence which the ghostly sword seems to follow up with another.

"You're always hesitating, rejecting me consistently. I'm not able to give my all when you're subconsciously resisting-"

"But I don't want to get possessed by a ghost! Bad things happen when people get possessed!" Argued Falcom, sounding like a small child this time around.

However, Eyelander continued without giving her argument even the slightest thought, discarding it to the trash can where it deserved to be. "Your stance is unrefined, your moves are sloppy and slow and somehow your luck is ridiculously low. Unnaturally even. I'm not exactly sure how that happened, but it did."

"Huh? Really?" Falcom's eyebrows rose in confusion, she doesn't know what the sword meant by her low luck. Well, she can't say she's had a life full of good fortunes so far but she wouldn't say her luck SUCKS.

"Yes, really. Your left foot."

Cue her left foot being caught by a tentacle.

And then cue Falcom cutting that tentacle off.

"As for the possessing, it worked out just fine for Demoman." He casually continued.

"But Demoman kills people for a living." Argued Falcom.

"And you kill monsters for a living, and are currently surrounded by dozens of them." Countered the sentient sword. He was right by default, as no matter where Falcom looked there were monsters waiting to beat her skull in. Hell, there were a few of them even waiting on trees!

But all of a sudden, the Eyelander started muttering. It wouldn't bother Falcom if not for the context of those words, or the sword's emotions when speaking them.

"Hmm. This is rather… interesting. Really."

So far, Falcom has heard him sounding bored, offended or coldly indifferent, but this the first time he sounded so intrigued. Like a mad scientist who found a new way to destroy the world. Falcom couldn't help but to ask. "What is it?

"I sensed, a kindred spirit… I wish to meet them." He firmly declared, leaving no room for anything else.

"Huh?"

"I am sensing someone in the same predicament as me. I wish to meet them, so you'll lead me to them." He repeated demandingly.

"So… another possessed sword? Hmm. We're surrounded though… not sure if I'll be able to take them all on." She stated worryingly. Strength-wise Falcom was much stronger than any of them, but the monsters had very superior numbers. She doesn't think even the Eyelander will be able to handle all of them at once.

"Numbers aren't a problem! **SAXTON HAAAAAAAAAAAALE!** "

A Seismic Slam outta nowhere! With one good punch, Saxton Hale shook the very earth itself. The nearby monsters were instantly obliterated, with those further away being knocked a fair distance and stunned.

"Thanks Mr. Hale! Listen, we're changing locations, Eyelander sensed someone-"

"Yeah I was listening the entire time." The CEO cut her explanation short, his eyes not leaving the stunned monsters. "Just go already!" He gave Falcom a small push, which nearly knocked her off balance and threatened to break her ribs. "I'm gonna stay here and entertain myself…"

"But-"

"Just go! You won't be fighting when you're talking to that toothpick. Just stop holding your share of animals and let me have my fun."

He left her with no room to talk, immediately jumping onto a branch after telling his piece.

Being scattered gave the monsters an opportunity to run, which most of those beasts used, scurrying away like prey from the predator to see another day.

But unfortunately for them, that predator couldn't have asked for a better chase.

"Let's have ourselves a little HUNTING! PARTY! Ahahahaha!"

"Woah." Falcom looked around the forest in confusion. She could hear the australian's cherry laugh from… everywhere. It was impossible to pinpoint its source and to make things even worse, her companion disappeared completely.

Did he use magic? Or maybe those cloaking devices Spy have?

"Let us get moving. They will wait of course, but I want to meet them as fast as possible." The Eyelander hurried, going so far as to move Falcom's legs himself, which obviously frustrated their owner.

"I'm walking, I'm walking. Stop possessing me, _please_."

Eyelander gave no heed towards Falcom's pleading, making her run towards the unknown with greater speed than she could ever imagine herself reaching.

* * *

The _precious,_ her own beautiful _precious_. She yearns for its touch, she _needs_ its touch. She wants to gaze again at that majestic sheen, she wants to hear again its godly voice. She wants to see her _precious_ again. To be lulled again by its marvelous sounds of choirs, to be mesmerized again by its magnificent beauty. It's so pretty. Prettier than anything.

Prettier than-

"Huh?"

Nepgear opened her eyes… and she doesn't recognize this ceiling.

She doesn't know where she is.

She doesn't know how she got here.

She doesn't know what's going on.

She doesn't know why she's tied up.

Total confusion is what she's feeling. Imagine yourself going to sleep, and then waking up in a different bed in different country.

The CPU Candidate struggled against her restraints, but they wouldn't budge. Whoever made them took her increased strength into account. Escape without outside help is impossible. "W-What's going on? W-Where is this?" She felt herself panicking. She was in unfamiliar territory with no way to defend herself. Judging by these factors, her confused and alerted mind reached the most logical conclusion:

"D-Did the ASIC capture me!?"

Her panic intensified. She doesn't know what the ASIC is planning to do with her, but it couldn't be anything good. Without thinking, and with all her might, Nepgear tried to wriggle herself free. She wriggled, pushed, ripped and bit. She couldn't stay here, she needs to return to Histoire, to Planeptune… basically she needs to be anywhere but _here_.

"I have to... get away quick... Hauuuuh..."

But no matter how much strength she mustered, the restraints held tight. Releasing a defeated sigh, the lilac-haired girl stopped wrestling with the restraints. It was pointless. In fact, she just noticed that she isn't in her HDD anymore, she probably turned it off in her sleep.

The CPU Candidate turned her head to look around, mentally pointing out that she should have done so before thrashing around… "Hmm?"

She could see various medical equipment, x ray scans, a heartbeat detector, various vials with mysterious liquids and handheld tools lying on a table, like scalpels or bonesaws…

So she's in some sort of hospital right now? If so then...

"Wait. What the goodness!? Why am I on an operating table!? What did they do to me!?"

Her brain had thousands of questions, but zero answers. She was watching the mercs' reunion with those new people, and then suddenly she woke up here...

"Ugh… what happened? I was watching over Blanc and then the mercenaries were talking with those two, and then I heard that-"

Then she heard that beautiful choir calling out to her, and again her memories got dizzy. She remembers feeling strangely warm and passing out shortly after.

"It's the metal! The material from which CFW Judge's armor was built!"

She doesn't understand what it was, but something about that armor threw her into a trance. A trance where all she could think of is how to get as close as possible towards her _precious_. No matter the cost. It clouded her mind and make her threw away all reason...

They finally managed to build a hard-counter against her.

"What a scary thing the ASIC have at their disposal..." She noted with a hint of fear.

In the past, way before the ASIC was even founded, there were already people who tried to make anti-CPU weapons. From making weapons and guns for humans to wield to giant war machines, many have tried to overthrow the CPU regime.

But none of them succeeded, not even the biggest weapon manufacturer in Lastation Avenir managed to do it. The CPUs destroyed everything those people threw at them.

B-But now... the ASIC managed to create something that doesn't assault the body, but the mind. And it worked horrifyingly effectively on her.

If Nepgear fought alone back then, she would certainly have lost. Scratch that, even with her friends and mercenaries backing her up it was still not enough! They won by the sheer luck that those new people arrived to save the day.

What if they're going to run tests on her? Testing more methods to see which one of them is effective against a CPU? This would turn into an all-out war where the ASIC hold a clear advantage!

Nepgear may have the Re:Spawn System protecting her, but it doesn't mean much if that metal can just drive her insane. It doesn't even reach everywhere, like the cave they were in.

What if she's out of Re:Spawn's reach right now?

Nepgear doesn't know how to check if she's in Re:Spawn range, nor does she know how far the Re:Spawn System can even reach. There's a good chance that if she dies, she may not Re:Spawn at all!

"Ah!?"

Something suddenly landed onto her chest, right onto her right breast more accurately. That thing turned out to be the familiar, blood-stained pigeon though. "...Archimedes?" As if reacting to his name, the pigeon turned towards Nepgear and cooed, 'Hi there!' Nepgear imagined him to say.

'What is he doing here? He should be in the mercs' hotel.' Ignoring the uncomfortable feeling of having a bird standing on her boobs, Nepgear stared at the bird in confusion. Well… considering her circumstances she couldn't do much else but that. Or try to make him fly away by wriggling.

The bird, tilting his head, also stared at the CPU, doing nothing else as the CPU Candidate reevaluated her surroundings. When she passed out, she was surrounded by her allies. There would be no way they let the ASIC capture her. And even if they did, Archimedes wouldn't be able to be here…

Her conclusion about this being an ASIC lab was false from the start.

So this place was...

"Oh… this is just Medic's lab. Oh thank goodness…" She sighed in relief. It seems she was worried for no reason. She is in a safe place.

She was safe, truly safe indeed...

But then it hit her.

"W-Wait! Why would Medic tie me up!?"

And this is where we switch scenes…

Taking the teleporter leading to the mercs' hotel, Histoire was met with a rather… interesting sight.

"You'll never hit me! You'll never hit me! You'll never hit me! Give it up, Solly!"

"You cannot run from me! My bison is faster!"

The first thing she noticed was Scout and Soldier, playing a rather dangerous game of tag, with the bostonian trying to dodge the endless onslaught of Soldier's ray beams. Then near the corner she could see Medic who was rather interested by the moving, wooden cutout of some strange, purplish beast with white fur Histoire has never heard of. Sitting on a bench next to the german was Heavy, wearing a silly costume resembling said beast and eating a banana.

She was already ready to ask questions, confused by what they're doing or why the lobby is littered with open Mann Co. crates, but then she noticed Demoman… sleeping as always, but Pyro was already trying to wake him up… by endlessly slapping the merc in the face with a grey rubber glove...

Spy is crying and Sniper is rubbing the salt by laughing at him...

Engineer, the only one who wasn't caught up in the weird antics, noticed the fairy hovering near the stairs. "G' mornin' Histoire. Anythin' we can help with?" He greeted, catching the attention of others and making them look at their employer.

"I am, yet again, at a loss of words on what is happening right now." She confessed truthfully.

"S' nothing big. We just got a new shipment from Mann Co." Sniper shrugged and pointed his thumb at the weeping merc. "Spook here is just having a breakdown 'cus Hale nerfed his Dead Ringer."

The words 'Hale nerfed his Dead Ringer' were confusing to the fairy. How do you make a watch less dangerous to you or anyone else?

Not knowing what else to say, Histoire simply parroted Sniper. "Nerfed? The Dead Ringer?" She spoke them while furrowing her brow, but Engineer, being a helpful guy, handed her the list of the balances.

"Yup, here's the list of changes our gear is goin' through."

The more she read it, the more she grew confused. The entire list looked like a list of gameplay changes taken straight out of a video game. 50% faster switch speed, 30% less damage, et cetera. This huge list was full of stuff like those. Why would they weaken some of those items anyway? Is it some sort of punishment?

It just shows that the mercenaries are still full of mystery, and they still have tons of surprises for her.

Finished skimming through the list, Histoire handed back the list feeling rather nonplussed. She had gradually accepted the fact that the mercenaries and their employers don't make sense half the time so she wasn't totally surprised, but that bout of strangeness hit her from an unseen angle. She was expecting more totally casual bloodshed and not… _this._

"And those will be in effect… when?"

"Right now actually, seems like Hale left those when we were sleepin'." Engineer shrugged.

"I see." She dismissed it, not feeling like questioning the rather insane logic (or lack of it) behind the 'balancing'. Instead she locked her gaze onto Medic, who raised a questioning eyebrow. "Medic, I would like to check Blanc again, do you mind?"

Medic, expecting this question the moment he saw her, shrugged in an 'eh, whatever' manner. "Not at all, Frau Histoire."

Eerie silence surrounded both of them as they ascended the stairs, the mercenaries watching them go without saying anything. It was creepy actually.

But the moment they disappeared from view, the party resumed. Like a bunch of teenagers.

* * *

'She looks so peaceful.' Were Histoire's immediate thoughts, watching the sleeping form of the CPU of Lowee.

"Her condition hasn't changed at all. Still invincible as before." Medic stated, watching the fairy's thinking form.

No changes at all, that's good actually. It eased her mind a little.

Pulling out her tiny, custom-made phone, the Oracle of Planeptune snapped a few pictures with her and the sleeping CPU. Naturally, it confused Medic quite a bit. "You came here only to take some pictures with her?" His puzzlement was clear in his voice and body language, as the german was scratching his head.

"The Oracle of Lowee asked for proof that we managed to rescue Blanc. However as I was previously too... preoccupied to think about it, I neglected to prepare any so I'm fixing that now." She explained, snapping more and more photos.

"Ah, I see. Shall we check on Fräulein Nepgear as well?" He proposed, nodding.

There was only one answer Histoire could provide.

* * *

"Nepgear?" Medic asked, slowly opened the doors to the Medical Bay.

After having had time to think, the CPU Candidate had calmed down completely and patiently waited for the doctor to check on her, and seeing both him and Histoire to enter the room made her brighten up. "Ah! Medic, Histoire!"

"I see you're awake, Fräulein." Noted Medic with a flat expression, but the fairy was much more happy about her wakeful state.

"I am glad you're awake, truly. You had me worried back then."

"Ehehe… I'm sorry." She sheepishly laughed, but then she suddenly shook her head and looked at both of them with a more serious gaze. "But nevermind that, I have something important to say. It's about the CFW Judge."

"Hov convenient." Medic remarked. "Ve vanted to ask you about zhis as well. Well? Vat is it?"

"The armor CFW Judge had… I don't know what it was or what it actually did, but I couldn't exactly think straight because of that _beautiful_ choir coming out of it."

The 'I couldn't exactly think straight' was an understatement, but the choir part intrigued Medic, who pressed his fist to his mouth in thoughts. "Hmm… zhe choir you say, can you elaborate?" He questioned. At the same time, Histoire pondered about Nepgear's tone when she said 'beautiful', it sounded like a woman struck with love.

"I could, but can you first let me go? These restraints are getting a little… uncomfortable."

"Huh?" Histoire's eyes widened.

She couldn't see it thanks to the sea green blanket covering her, but the restraints holding Nepgear down were still in place.

Medic however was much more casual about this, simply apologising with a quick "Ah, right. Apologies." And getting to free the CPU Candidate from the operating table.

"Why did you tie up Nepgear?" The Oracle questioned, feeling both confused and angry at this fact.

"It vas for her own protection. If she woke up in zhe same mental state she could have hurt herself even more."

"Hurt myself even more?" Nepgear parroted in shock. "What did I do to myself?"

She felt rather fine actually, nothing was aching her other than her legs starting to get a little numb…

Medic looked Nepgear right in her purple eyes, boring his gaze right into her soul. She felt a little freaked out by this, like there wasn't anything she could hide from him. After a while, he finally spoke.

"Do you really vant to know?"

Her confidence faltered a bit, _something_ in his tone suggested that she would be better off not hearing it…

"A-Actually I'm fine. No, thank you." Choosing to not hear what happened, Nepgear felt slightly relieved when Medic turned his creepy gaze elsewhere and freed her. The method he used was kinda anticlimactic…

I mean seriously, she wrestled with those restraints as much as she could, but all she needed to do to free herself was to press an easily reachable button!? The CPU Candidate internally facepalmed, feeling stupid. But stupid or not, she was finally free. Taking a deep breath and feeling grateful, Nepgear thanked Medic and moved on with the explanation.

She talked about how she felt in CFW Judge's presence, describing the effects of this new armor of his in rather creepy detail. It wasn't uncommon for Histoire to stop Nepgear before she went onto yet another ramble about how beautifully the choir sang or how she wanted to cuddle herself to sleep with this metal. Even Medic felt a bit creeped out the longer she talked about it.

But there was something interesting.

"A heavenly choir und an attractive look only for specific people…" Medic mused. No one, especially not him, felt anything like what Nepgear described. But the effects were actually familiar to him, actually there was an expert on that subject in their team, waiting right on the lower floor.

"Hold on zhere, fräulein. I need to get someone to listen to zhis." He pardoned himself, cutting Nepgear short. "O-Oh. Alright." The candidate said, pausing until Medic comes back.

While the doctor was unavailable, Histoire, who was silently listening until now decided to speak up. "How do you feel?" She asked. She's been worried about her ever since she saw that horrible scene.

"Uhm I think I'm alright now, but I'm sorry. I probably worried you all."

"Yes, you did."

There was no point in denying it, Nepgear's rash actions had been alarming even for the mercs, but hearing the story from the Candidate's perspective confirmed her suspicions that Nepgear wasn't thinking right then. It almost sounds like the metal hypnotized her to the point of madness. Hopefully Medic will be able to help them figure out exactly what's going on before the incident repeats itself. The image of Nepgear giddily throwing herself into an incoming blade of silver were among the nicer horrors that plagued the little Oracle's imagination right now. The fairy shook her head and changed the subject.

"Anyway… Before coming here, I was talking to the Oracle of Lowee actually." She switched topics, trying to make Nepgear (and herself) focus on something else.

The CPU Candidate did seem interested in the affairs of different nations. "Really? How was she?"

"She was shocked, to put it simply." Histoire had no other verb to describe her. "If our next discussion goes without problems, she and the Loweean CPU Candidates should bring a Sharicite here to revive Blanc."

While Histoire was smiling at those words, Nepgear was rather shocked. "Huh? Mina will come here? And the CPU Candidate!? Lowee has a Candidate!?"

As far as the lilac-haired girl remembers, she was the only Candidate in Gamindustri. In fact, she's certain of it. Of course, that was 3 years ago.

Just how much has the world changed in just 3 years?

W-Wait! Histoire said Candidates. As in plural.

Lowee have _more than one_ CPU Candidate!?

Histoire didn't expect such surprise from Nepgear, the fairy actually thought that she was aware of other Candidates that were currently protecting their nations. "Yes, they will come here-"

But before she could explain further, Medic returned with the person he sought for. And that person turned out to be Sniper, for some reason. "Alright, so watcha have, Nepgear." He crossed his arms. "We should make things quick, though. Miss Pauling is throwing a fit in the lobby, saying that she wants to talk with you, Histoire."

"Throving a fit vould be an overstatement zhere, Sniper." Medic corrected and adjusted his glasses.

"Well, whatever. Point still stands." He shrugged and turned his head to Nepgear. "Well, sheila. I'm waiting."

And so Nepgear explained the effects of CFW Judge's armor to the australian, basically repeating what she said before but making sure to lose herself way less than earlier. It didn't take long for the merc to state his opinion.

"Yup, sounds like Australium, and that's strange." He agreed, but there was some confusion in his voice. "I 'aven't feel anythin', so that ain't really Australium, but the effects you describe are the same as when an australian sees Australium."

"What is Australium?" Histoire asked, another thing of the mercs' world she's never heard of.

"Australium is…" Medic began, "Zhe rarest element on Earth, zhat is our homevorld actually. Australium can be found only in Australia, and its sought by everyone due to its amazing properties."

"Ye, what Doc said." Sniper agreed with his teammate's explanation. "But there's something more to it. It's poison."

"Poison?" Nepgear repeated.

"Ye, poison." The australian spat out venomously. "It makes you smarter, stronger, _mannlier_ , but also crazier. It'll poison your mind until you can't think rationally. Every Australian 'sides me and my parents can't think of anythin' else but how to make their moustache thicker or how to punch the bloke standin' next to them. They're a bunch of stupid geniuses who invented a cloaking device to create an invisible kangaroo wrestling match."

Histoire and Nepgear didn't know what to say, they haven't met any australians besides him or Saxton Hale (who Histoire technically still hasn't met in person) but from the sound of it, the australians don't actually sound so bad and Sniper is just envious of them.

But then again, they don't know how the stereotypical australian acts, they can't judge. Considering the kind of company Sniper hangs out with, if he considers Australians insane then there's probably more to the 'poisoned' populace than they can imagine.

"So CFW Judge's armor was made from Australium?" Nepgear pondered, but Sniper shook his head.

"Nope, not possible. Australium looks like gold, but that tin can was silvery, it was somethin' else with similar traits."

"So while we've confirmed the cause, it's still nothing conclusive." Histoire sighed, the plot thickens. "I'll have to let the Guild know about this, and also ask them to analyze his armor. Thanks for the help, Sniper."

"Any time." He nodded, before pointing at the exit. "Now you might wanna talk with Miss Pauling, be careful though, she'll lie and manipulate her way into you."

"Thanks for the concern, but Medic already informed me about her. I am aware of how dangerous she is."

Too dangerous to keep close, but at the same time too dangerous to let go. The mercs would probably gladly kill her if she asked but the Oracle doesn't want things to escalate that far… also it probably won't sit with Mr. Hale very well…

"Good." Sniper nodded in the affirmative. "Still, better for you if make things vague. Don't let her latch onto anything."

Oh boy… he sounds like she's some sort of shady dealer.

* * *

"I'm sorry for keeping you waiting."

Histoire greeted with a fake smile, although she's confident that no one can read it as being forced.

Sitting on one of the chairs, Miss Pauling also said her greetings with an ambiguous smile. "Nah, don't worry about it."

Histoire wasn't sure how she did it, but it's just both of them in the lobby. The rest of the mercs were missing. Sure, she isn't completely alone as there is Medic, Sniper and Nepgear to aid her in case something happens, but the fairy is still worried. This is most likely due to the mercs constantly warning her, but Histoire started to see Miss Pauling in a new light.

"I understand that you have some sort of proposal for me, right?" She might as well take a more direct approach and not waste time. The quicker she's done with it, the faster Histoire can show Mina the photographic proof.

The chair creaked as Miss Pauling leaned on it, her eyes closed and her arms crossed. "Straight to the chase then." She noted, nodding to herself. Then she nudged a chair which was on the opposite side. "Wanna sit?" The assistant suggested, but Histoire declined with a shake of her head.

"No thank you. I'll remain on my book."

And also if she actually sat on that chair, she won't be able to see Miss Pauling at all.

"Fine then. I want to help you take down the ASIC."

And the hearing began, with Miss Pauling stating her desire to help right from the start. Histoire heard her saying this before, that she was initially there to grab the mercs but then she said they'll stay to help because they have nowhere else to go…

Would Histoire be able to live with the guilt of throwing out someone onto the streets, with them not having anywhere else to go? Sure, she could be lying about this, but considering she's from the same world as the mercs. It holds some credibility.

" _...because ve know her, ve know she can't be trusted. Her boss is planning on using you, Frau Histoire, to achieve her goals like she did vith us. Sooner or latter ve vill be in trouble."_

" _Now you might wanna talk with Miss Pauling, be careful though, she'll lie and manipulate her way into you."_

The mercs are already suspicious of her. But does she even have a connection with her boss? From what she remembers, the mercs tried contacting her too and they failed.

"We're going against an international crime organisation. You know that right?"

"Yes, I am aware. But this is where me and Hale might be useful."

Histoire raised her brow at this, she spoke nothing but nodded for Miss Pauling to continue.

"The mercs probably already spoke their complaints about me to you. I can see how wary you are now."

Histoire sweatdropped at this, the assistant read her completely.

"So let me put in this way. Accept my help and I'll join the ASIC, nono, stop, let me finish." The Oracle was quick to argue, but Miss Pauling was even quicker to stop her. "I'll feed you intel on what they're doing. I'll manipulate and blackmail their workers to do what you ask me and then throw them under the bus to get a higher position. When the mercs bust a place down and kill everyone, I'll dispose of the bodies and evidence for the police to have a harder time."

The assistant said all of that with indifference, but it was harder and harder for Histoire to listen to her. Yes, she was definitely working with mercenaries, there was no doubt about it now.

But even then. "Isn't this all what Spy is already doing?" Everything she listened there sounded like something Spy was already doing. Why would she need someone who both concerned her other employees and had a set of skills similar to one of her already trusted personnel?

Histoire's resolve to hire her dropped, but Miss Pauling looked rather disappointed at her words. "It sounds like it but no, Spy is an assassin. He's a person you send when you want someone discreetly missing. He isn't suited for pure espionage where you only collect information and getting it leaked without raising suspicion. That's my job, I was in charge of collecting intel for the Administrator. I'll be able to reach into places where even Spy, with a cloak watch and disguise kit, won't be able to. With my help, the ASIC won't be able to hold any secrets from you."

'She knows how to market herself.' Histoire thought. "I see, but then what would be Mr. Hale's role?"

"He's my bodyguard and a reliable plan B. If there is something I can't obtain by blackmail or manipulation, I'll use Hale's force. You saw how powerful he is."

Yes, he showed his might very clearly…

"Okay. But what's in it for you?" Miss Pauling clearly explained the benefits Histoire will get from hiring her, but the ravenette never said a word on what she herself will be getting from the deal.

Shrugging, Miss Pauling said her price. "A place to stay and a reliable source of income. What else can I get?"

Sound rewards, she's from another world so she doesn't have anything to her name. Having a roof over her head and money would be reasonably the first thing to desire in a new society.

This is a dilemma for Histoire. The mercs say to get as far as possible from her, but what she is offering is to actually hold herself at that distance, and help her defeat the ASIC from the shadows. If she accepts her help then Saxton Hale will join as well, who'll be a big help in the next fights against the CFWs.

Should she hire her, and reap the great benefits? Or reject her and play it safe?

Histoire had to think about this carefully.

The mercs say she's dangerous, and Miss Pauling's aware of their distrust. That's why she offers to be as far as possible from them and instead live with the ASIC, where she'll stab their backs for her benefit.

While information and discourse in the enemy ranks are useful, that's actually one of the less helpful benefits, the mercs are doing fine getting under the ASIC's skin without her help.

What is really important to her is Saxton Hale. He took on CFW Judge one-on-one and emerged decisively victorious. It doesn't matter that the Felon was already wounded, Hale won without a scratch where the entire mercenary team and Nepgear's friends combined had failed.

If they could get him onto their side, they could defeat the ASIC by taking out their leaders directly. There wouldn't be any need of slowly removing their influence from the nation.

But he's tied up to a person that the mercenaries absolutely distrust…

So that's why...

"I thank you for being eager to help. But I'm afraid I must decline your proposal."

She'll place her faith in their judgement, like she should as their employer.

The mercenaries were helpful to her from the start, literally sacrificing their lives to protect Nepgear from the ASIC, using their barbaric, yet effective, strategies to help Histoire and Nepgear to free Planeptune from ASIC's influence. They also made her and her friends immortal thanks to the Re:Spawn System.

Not only have they fully committed to their duty, such as saving Histoire's life during the press conference, with Spy taking a bullet for her, but they've gone above and beyond it too. Soldier trained Nepgear and her friends, she knows Engineer's befriended the Candidate in their mutual love for machinery, and something similar applies between Medic and Compa. For all their faults, madness and violence, they are as loyal as can be, and sometimes the fairy found it easy to forget that they're just hired guns, simply because they act like so much more than that.

These men care for her, and for Nepgear and her friends. When a group of people like that tells her not to trust someone she can already tell is dangerous, how could she not listen to them?

Miss Pauling meanwhile, was mildly surprised. "Pardon?" But she tried to keep her voice polite.

Usually, when Histoire rejects a deal she doesn't like, the second party will try to force her into accepting their proposal, through her work as the Oracle there were many people like that. Desperately trying to make her give in and accept it.

"I'm afraid I'll decline your help. I'm rather certain that I wouldn't need your skills."

"Well, that's unfortunate."

At least the person sitting in front of her was decent enough to not be one of those people. Act or not she already topped a few other businessmen who tried to take advantage of her.

The assistant stood up, facing the Oracle fully. She didn't think she would succeed in persuading the fairy when she's protected by the mercenaries, but the ravenette likes to at least try her hand before giving up.

And because of that, she'll try something else.

Miss Pauling raised her finger to get Histoire's attention. "But before I leave though." Then she turned her hand, with the palm facing upwards. It was common when people wanted something.

"Can you lend me some money for a plane ticket? Please?"

…

…

…

Now this scene was rather comical. Histoire was watching the ravenette with a deadpan expression, judging whether or not she should throw her a bone and give her some money, while the beggar just stood there with her hand reaching out and a sheepish smile decorating her face. An awkward silence slowly consumed their souls until one of them does anything.

Then Histoire opened her wallet.

Miss Pauling walked out with 3000 Credits more to her name. This is a new currency to her so she isn't certain just how much she can buy with it, but at least she received something. "Onwards to Leanbox, then. After I pick up Hale." She declared, calling the over-muscled idiot with her oversized brick of a phone.

Yeah, she caught a few looks with it.

As for Histoire, the Oracle was pondering if she screwed up somewhere. She felt that tiny nagging feeling that this isn't the last time they'll be seeing her… and they'll be in lots of trouble when that happens.

"You made the right choice. It's better to keep people like her away from you."

Spy's reassuring words came from the corner, he must have been standing with the Cloak and Dagger equipped. Histoire doesn't know how much he heard but she bets that he heard everything.

"Where is the rest of the team?"

"Listening in from the Resupply Room."

Oh. So there they were this entire time. The 6 remaining mercs watching her from the staircase, with only their heads visible. Pyro even waved to her when Histoire noticed it. She was about to ask why they were there, but Soldier answered it before she even asked. "No interruptions. Miss Pauling's orders!"

"Oookay…."

The awkwardness haven't left her yet, and the mercs weren't exactly helping it.

So now that Miss Pauling/Histoire talk is over with, how about we skip to the next scene.

There are a lot of discussions in this chapter...

* * *

"Hello again, Histoire."

"Good day to you too, Mina. I've brought the proof with me and am sending them now."

For the 3rd time in just one day, both Oracles greeted each other, with Histoire uploading her collected proof immediately, dragging the pictures one-by-one from her phone and onto the chat box.

The time break had given Mina an opportunity to steel herself. She was certain that Histoire would keep her word and prepare proof, and well… she did.

But there would never be enough time for her to properly prepare for when the first photo loaded on her screen, for when she could finally see her employer, leader, friend, safe, resting peacefully in a warm and cozy bed instead of the Graveyard.

It's just too much for Mina's fragile heart. Blanc is back. Blanc is finally back...

"...Are you alright?"

Only because Histoire asked, dumbfounded by that, did Mina notice the moisture leaking out of her eyes. She tried to wipe them away and remain calm but just couldn't. "I-I…" Even her voice was breaking. "I never thought I'd see Blanc again. This is… This is real, right?"

The proof was right in front of her, delivered to her by a trusted person, the timestamp showed that these were made only a few minutes ago and the picture was too clear for it to be any sort of mistake. And yet, the Loweean Oracle couldn't believe it. It's too good to be true. After those 3 painful years, where all of them struggled all they could to keep this country from burning down, when they've grown to accept that their CPU will be lost forever, she just gets a sudden call like that, saying Blanc is rescued.

This isn't a dream, right?

"Yes, those are authentic. The CPU White Heart is currently resting in Planeptune, and waiting for your Sharicite." Histoire assured. The fairy also feels warm inside, seeing Mina so happy that she loses composure… it bring a light smile to her face. She genuinely shares her happiness like a true friend.

Using her hand like a fan, Mina tried to dry those happy tears away. "I'm so happy. I'm so happy…"

She must start creating the Sharicite, there's no time to lose.

But let her just calm down first…

The rest of the talk was insignificant, mostly composed with Mina trying to stop crying and Histoire reassuring her that his is all real. Perhaps the only thing worth mentioning is Mina stating that she'll arrive as soon as possible after she finishes creating the Sharicite.

"Girls?" Now the still teary-eyed Oracle slowly opened the doors to Rom & Ram's room.

As expected of it being a child's room, it bore bright colors, with walls being light blue and pink striped. It possessed everything to be comfortable for them, like colorful bean bag chairs scattered across the room, a bookcase full of picture books and plushies, two desks where the twins did their homework and finally a Loweean console connected to the 4k TV monitor attached to the wall.

Anyway, seeing their guardian opening the doors, the twins raised their heads from the picture book they were coloring. "Hey there, Mina- are you crying?" Ram blinked at Mina, clearly confused.

Rom saw it too, and looked at their caretaker with concern. "Are you okay?" She said softly.

The bluenette just realized that it was still clear she cried, despite her washed face. The Loweean Oracle just looked to the ground, admitting the deed with a small sigh. "I was."

The twins' worry intensified, but Mina raised her face again. A smile was present on her face.

"Get ready, girls. Y-your s-sister returned. We're going to see her." Her voice was dying out at the last bit, but Rom and Ram still caught it.

Frozen in shock by those words, both twins dropped their crayons.

* * *

"We're getting close, stop now."

Doing as instructed, Falcom halts her run with a small slide. The adventurer looked back at the path they took; she couldn't believe how fast she moved. She never achieved such speed before, in fact she could only dream of moving so fast with any other weapon besides Eyelander.

So this happens when you have a ghost on your side?

"You can turn around now, look where we are now."

Said ghost broke her out of her reverie. There were no monsters crossing her path so Falcom sheathed it to free her hands, now it hangs from her hip.

Facing her front, the redhead breathed out of disbelief. "Woah…"

She was standing at the edge of a shore, being so long that it reached the horizon, and where there was a shore there was... "Water?"

This sapphire-colored liquid went as far as her eye could see, looking frighteningly like an ocean. But Falcom knows that she hasn't reached one yet. Her sense of direction isn't that bad. "It's so clear, I can see the bottom!"

She's heard of and seen lakes that were so clear that you could see the bottom. Those usually look shallow, but their appearance can be deceiving and be even 200 meters deep.

"Yes, the water looks good, I get it. But look to the right, do you see that small island in the middle of this lake?"

Falcom narrowed her eyes and scanned the lake, trying to see what Eyelander noticed. "The one with the castle? Yeah I see it. Wait, this means… we're at the Heart Lake?"

The largest lake in Planeptune and all of Gamindustri, named because of its shape of a heart. Falcom knew that they're pretty close to it when they were hunting with Hale, but to think that this 'kindred spirit' of the Eyelander is at this lake?

"Yes, that castle. This is where my kindred spirit awaits. Do you know what it is?"

Falcom closed her right eye, searching within her history knowledge. "Umm… some castle left by Neptune's predecessor. LAN Castle, historians call it, I'm not sure what its purpose was though. Some sort of fortification in case of invasion perhaps? An old Basilicom?"

"Can we still enter there?"

"If I remember my geography right… There should be a natural bridge connecting it with the main land. Ah, there."

Spotting not one, but two naturally formed bridges, Falcom points them out. "Splendid." Eyelander said with a hint of eagerness. "Let us depart then."

…

…

…

…

…

...

Unbeknownst to them, to everyone in Gamindustri. Falcom, Miss Pauling, Histoire, _everyone_. They were all observed by a mysterious figure hidden in the white void.

And as Falcom neared the LAN Castle, that person panicked.

* * *

 _TF2 Dictionary:_

 _\- Nerf_

 _A term used to describe a weapon or item that has been downgraded or had its capabilities reduced. Typically weapons are "nerfed" for gameplay balance reasons, i.e. the item is significantly overpowered or provides too great an advantage over other players._

 _\- Buff_

 _May refer to:_

 _A charged Buff Banner, Battalion's Backup, or Concheror deployed for use by a Soldier._

 _The state of a player being overhealed by a friendly Medic._

 _Slang for a weapon or item's game mechanics being improved or made stronger._

 _\- Spy checking_

 _A common term for the investigations players make to determine where or who enemy Spies are and eliminate them. These investigations are both useful and important because Spies cannot attack while cloaked, cannot immediately attack or place Sappers after decloaking, and can effectively kill by attacking from behind._

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Good Luck and Bad Luck**

* * *

Before saying anything else, I'm sorry for going META, I had no idea how else I could explain sudden major changes to merc's arsenal other than going into META so I'm sorry. Although it did give me an opportunity for a comedic scene…

And that's that for the 21th chapter, it took a while to write, mostly because I'm also working on rewriting the crappy prologue (which was actually done, but my editor threw it out and is now writing one by himself. So I spent an entire month for nothing...). But nevermind all of that.

So what do you guys think? What is the meaning of that cliffhanger? Who is that person or the Eyelander's kindred spirit? Haha! Those questions will be answered later, as always.

VERY IMPORTANT: Because Falcom's adventures in LAN Castle are an important, if not a critical part of the story. Next few chapters are going to take the break from other stuff and focus purely on her. As this location will make the plot really thick, extra thicc even!

But after we're done, we're going to see Blanc waking up pronto, I assure you.

Responses:

\- Samdaman95

Stop that caps, jeez. There won't be any conquest endings, I already have an ending picked up and this isn't a conquest one. Trust me.

Maybe you guys will even like it.

\- Piggyslayer1235

Standing on Nepgear's boob like in few scenes ago.

 ***- "Ta zniewaga krwi wymaga!" is a quote from a Polish comedy book named "Zemsta" ("Revenge" in english) written by Aleksander Fredro and published in 1838. Because Soldier was actually in Poland, it would be possible for him to read the book or at least learn the saying, as it is pretty popular here.**

 **I'm not sure if there is an official english adaptation of the book, but I would translate this into something like "This insult requires a blood spill!"**


	22. Interlude: Mysterious LAN Party

Hidden in an endless white void, away from everyone in Gamindustri or any other world, was a sole man. He was a human, a plain one at that, wearing only a black business suit with no tie and a black vest underneath the jacket. The kind of man one wouldn't give a second thought to if they passed on the street. Yet, the man stood in a place where no other humans, or even CPUs, have ever been before.

From that place, he observes everything that happens in Gamindustri. And in that place, in this moment, he is suffering from quite the conundrum.

"Well, that took a turn for the worst. What to do, what to do, what to do? How do I fix this crap? CAN I even fix this?"

He mused, watching Falcom get closer and closer to the LAN Castle with brown eyes and a mean gaze he was born with. The fact that Falcom is getting near that castle bothered him more than anything else that was happening right now. For one reason or another, he just didn't want Falcom to go where she's going right now.

"Seriously, is there anything I can do right now?" He closed his eyes as his mind went into overdrive for about 5 seconds before he opened them again, his brown eyes glaring down at the 'floor'.

"Nope, nothing."

Accepting his defeat, he rubbed his forehead and released an irritated sigh, trying (and failing) to think of any sort of way to stop her. "Damn it Eyelander, you stubborn plastic toy. You're going to ruin everything!" Cursing the name of the malevolent spirit, the mysterious man scanned the surroundings, but even that bore nothing to help him with this situation.

"There's no one I can send to stop her. The Eyelander is possessing her so I can't do anything on my own, and she's getting closer to triggering the goddamn Conquest ending and ruin this entire thing! Fuck! I have to stop them, but how?"

With no way of impeding her progress, the enigma was forced to just idly observe how the events unfold. With any luck, he may get a chance to incapacitate her and pull her out by himself.

Wait… incapacitate?

He got an idea.

"Wait. Monsters! Yes!"

LAN Castle was a habitat of monsters, some of which should be too much for Falcom to handle, even with the Eyelander's help. If he forces her to fight all of them, it'll force her to either flee and leave, or lose and get defeated. Win-win.

It's a risky move. He can't let the adventurer die, but he also can't let her enter the castle… she needs to be stopped!

But when he looked into the interior of the old building, he was met with a rather unfortunate (for him) surprise.

There weren't any monsters inside. It's completely empty.

"You've gotta be kidding me… Where are those things, there should be tons of them!" Confusion and shock overtook his emotions. He didn't change anything in the LAN Castle so there should be _hordes_ of monsters living inside, waiting to rip any treasure hunters to shreds. But somehow it's completely empty!

Wait, no, scratch that. The castle _isn't_ completely empty...

Gritting his teeth and narrowing his eyes, he growled his question. "Now, who might _you_ be?"

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Interlude: Mysterious LAN Party**

* * *

Even though she was being forced into walking a few kilometers just to meet with some ghost inside a sword, Falcom can't say she isn't curious herself. A sentient sword hidden inside ancient ruins, hidden from everyone's sight until now? That sounds like a job perfect for an adventurer, count her in!

Thanks to the powers lent to her by the Eyelander, making her way through a kilometer long bridge took only a few minutes and zero sweat. After getting past the natural bridge, she could see the main gate and the castle itself, and boy do they look majestic!

Falcom's breath caught in her throat. The sight was breathtaking. "Wow… this castle doesn't look that old actually. A little worn out but surprisingly well kept."

The walls were made out of whitish rock, sprawling as far as the island could allow and reaching even 20 meters in height. Cracks and holes were present in the fortification, with moss growing inside. But Falcom was certain that if there was any need, the walls could keep up for a while longer.

And right in the middle of the man-made perimeter stood a castle made out of the same rock, with towers reaching towards the sky with their pointy, brown roofs. Unlike the outside fortifications, the castle itself looks much better, almost in pristine condition in fact! Maybe the castle itself was just built better, or people were maintaining it.

Narrowing her orange eyes, Falcom tried to guess how tall the towers were. After 3 or 4 seconds she made a wild guess that they're over 40 meters tall and left it there, confident that she isn't off the mark that much.

While the adventurer was amazed, the sword had to remind her about their goal. "Okay, you had your sightseeing, now try to get past the gate." No matter how much Falcom wanted to gaze at the building a little longer, her ghostly partner wanted to meet up with his relative.

She can call the both of them relatives, right?

In front of her were two paths, one of them leading straight towards the main entrance, thick wooden doors in the middle of a wall, while the other led towards a small forest, so small that Falcom can even see a clearing from where she's standing.

Obviously, the choice fell on the path leading to the gate.

Standing near it, Falcom noticed the damage created upon the gate. Dents, cracks, splinters, a lot of them too. It was like someone tried to force their way in.

Trying to open the doors, Falcom put her hands on it, but- "- _hk!?_ " -her heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Her blood grew cold.

Her eyes widened.

Her entire posture froze.

Her brain ceased all thoughts.

The moment she touched the wood, she felt _something_.

There were no words she could use to describe the sensation, she just… _felt_ something within her. It wasn't painful but it wasn't pleasant either, it was just… this.

She doesn't know what it was, or what that meant.

And why has silence turned into total chaos in just a moment?

"Behind you."

The Eyelander's warning came sharply, but Falcom was too dazed to act on it. With also the sudden appearance of dozens of mysterious grunting sounds, Falcom turned around, freezing in place when she saw it.

What she saw was something green and transparent, and it was also quickly charging at Falcom's face, while the adventurer could only stand there frozen in shock.

* * *

"Huh?"

Meanwhile, from within the castle's grounds, a young woman snapped her head upwards. Something was amiss, she could sense it. Her surprised, wide eyes turned to stare at the bookcase in front of her, her lips slowly trembling while her brain processed the new information.

Not saying a word, the young'un slowly turned her head towards the sole exit of the room. Or rather the direction where the sole entrance to the castle stood.

The reason for this was simple. The moment Falcom tried to open the gate, the woman had sensed her mind.

How? Only she knows.

But it does have to do with the fact that she's a practitioner of dark magic.

Carefully putting the book she was reading back upon the bookshelf, the dark magician hurried out of the library.

* * *

It came so suddenly, too suddenly. Falcom didn't even have a chance to reminisce about her life.

Even if the Eyelander acted and tried to move her out of the way, even then Falcom would be too slow. This thing was coming too fast. Evasion was impossible. Both of them were caught unaware and the price in blood is coming in hard and quickly.

All the adventurer could do was stand there and hope that her death won't be too painful…

Or at least that's what she thought like 0.0000000000001 second ago.

Because why the hell did this thing just harmlessly pass _right through_ her!?

Her ears were assaulted by a loud crash from behind her, deafening the grunts of men in front of her, but barring her ability to hear, Falcom was fine. A moment passed before Falcom slowly opened her eyes, and through her arms raised to guard she could see the transparent thing closing in again. Seeing this, Falcom yet again closed her eyes shut and braced for pain.

Which never came.

"You can open your eyes now. It seems you'll live."

Hearing Eyelander's reassurance, Falcom opened her eyes again. Just like before the transparent thing, which turns out to be some sort of log, passed harmlessly through her body and struck the doors behind her, effectively creating a deafening crash.

It was at this point she realized that she's standing _inside_ a battering ram. Not like inside a small room next to the log, but inside- _inside_ this thing. Inside a battering ram, manned by a bunch of people.

Which appeared out of nowhere.

Falcom's brain just shut down right then and there.

She's never seen anything like this, so stepping out of the siege engine she stammered with worry and confusion. "W-What is this? Who are they? I am so confused right now…"

Weirdly enough, the Eyelander also agreed with her, his voice curious. "Me too, actually. They appeared out of nowhere and I couldn't sense them coming. Hell, I'm not sensing them even now."

So this was the reason why his warning came too late. He was focused on the gate, and couldn't notice them sneaking up on them. But he could find some good sides to it. "But at least, looks like you can't be affected by them at all. Nor can you affect them it seems, look, they don't even notice you."

Falcom just noticed that he's right. Ever since they... arrived? Those 4 burly men pulling the log didn't even glance at her. All of them were focused on busting those doors down. Which is also yet another strange thing. "Okay, this is getting really freaky…"

She examined the medieval battering ram which had suddenly appeared behind her.

An arrow-proof canopy protected the people underneath, with a log attached to it via chains and rope, manned by 4 men who pulled and pushed the log repeatedly. All of it looked like an ordinary medieval siege engine expect for 3 facts.

It's green.

It's transparent.

The people inside were also green and transparent.

It's like when she touched the gate, a hologram appeared behind her to scare her.

But jokes on them, she wouldn't even have noticed if it wasn't for the Eyelander calling it out...

Looking at it, Falcom sighed and tried to ease her beating heart. Massaging her chest, the adventurer couldn't help but to question. "So what now?"

"Now we go where we were supposed to go, what else?"

'Um, go home and forget this ever happened?' Was Falcom's immediate thought, but she didn't voice it out. It'll just piss him off and he'll just possess her again. Releasing yet another sigh, Falcom placed her hands on the gate, ignoring the constant pounding of the hologram.

The doors opened surprisingly easily. With how old and beat-up they were, Falcom thought it would be much harder, but someone did a great job in maintaining the joints.

* * *

Opening the doors, Falcom could finally see what the castle grounds look like.

Hedges as tall as she was blocked most of her vision, but she was inside a small courtyard. Hedges all around her acted like walls, with benches placed next to them to allow a place to rest. The pavement she's stepping on was made out of pink brick and what really took Falcom's attention was a statue standing right in the middle.

It was made out of metal, probably iron, and already blacked out from the air exposure… or at least, that's what she could tell from the base of the statue that remained. Unlike the rest of the castle, this monument had been destroyed, its ruined remnants scattered around it, yet somehow it remains standing in the form of a green hologram, just like the men and the battering ram. It featured a woman with 2 pigtails standing on a podium, making a cool(ish) pose to everyone who entered. Falcom doesn't recognize her as any historical figure, but she does think that woman was probably the owner of this place.

Growing slightly curious, Falcom read the plaque fixed to the podium.

 _Our dear protector and the leader of this nation._

 _% & % # $_

And quickly her curiosity was replaced by a frown. The symbols aren't just the Author trying to show the name was somehow unreadable, like scratched out or something. No, the plaque literally showed symbols as if that's how she was named. How do you even pronounce it? CAN you even pronounce it!?

Seeing this, Falcom deadpanned.

"This is weird."

"Yeah, it is."

Eyelander had no more comments on this strange thing, but the words ' _dear protector and the leader of this nation'_ confused her. 'Who was she?' Falcom asked herself. Maybe this is just lack of her historical knowledge but Falcom didn't recognize that person from anywhere.

This castle was getting more and more confusing. Falcom's starting to have bad thoughts about this place, as if the ghostly siege engine wasn't enough.

Barring the exit, there were 3 other paths with each of them going into seperate directions, but the one in the middle led straight into an entrance to the castle. That was an another obvious choice for Falcom.

* * *

Shutting the doors behind her, the class of the castle's interior took her breath away. "Woah…"

The greenish and brown checkered floor, while worn down, still retained its elegance. Fine golden ornaments decorated the walls, impossible to distinguish between green or blue thanks to the poor lighting, which was weird because there were chandeliers and lamps illuminating the castle, alongside stained glass panels letting the sun in.

It was old, but still fanciful and extravagant. People of its age didn't go cheap.

Captivated by the castle's beauty, Falcom took a few steps deeper, though she still remembered to lay her hand on the Eyelander's handle if she needed to draw him out.

"You know, I wonder how people used to live here. I can already say that the landlord had a lot of money to spare." Falcom remarked, fancying brief fantasies of what she could do with that kind of fortune. Probably not spend it all on an opulent castle.

"A legion of servants dedicated to maintaining the property and its owners each day. Watering and nursing the plants, keeping the area clean of filth and attending to their master's every need. The most capable and trusted ones would also be in charge of leading the rest of the personnel, and when the landlord was absent they'd take care of any formalities and problems on their property. Guards patrol the halls and line the perimeter, diligently searching for any trespassers and dealing with them accordingly. The landlord would do whatever they wanted, whatever interests or whim they fancied. They own the place after all."

Falcom stopped and looked down at her partner, baffled. She didn't expect him to answer, much less in such detail. Seeing her staring at him with those stupid, orange eyes, the sword in question spat out. "What? I have lived in such places before. I was a wealthy scottish monarch when I still lived."

"Oh."

She never heard about that.

In fact, she's certain that no one's heard anything about the Eyelander's nobility. But she can't be really sure… she knew the mercs for like what? A week? Week and a half? Chances are the Eyelander already told the Demoman his story before.

But now that she's heard it, Falcom needs to know more.

"Well… What was it like? Ruling and being rich I mean? Should I call you Duke Eyelander now?"

She wasn't mocking him with the title, she was really ready to start calling him that, but the 'Duke' himself was less than happy with the title, and so he snarled venomously. "Don't call me that, I am well past those times." Falcom was about to respond to that, but Eyelander continued, growling angrily like an enraged animal. "It is not the hedonist paradise you imagine. The snakes that surround you, all of them traitors and backstabbers, hungry for power like wolves starving for meat. They deserved everything I have done to them, _all of them_."

Seeing yet another new emotion displayed by the Eyelander, Falcom's brow furrowed, with a bead of sweat running down her face. Call her superstitious, but isn't enraging a malicious ghost obsessed about decapitating everything a straight up bad idea?

"I tried to be a good ruler, to lead them to a prosperous future we could all share... But all they cared about were themselves, those selfish, big-headed _swine_ … They deserved it… Deserved all of it… All of it… _Headdds_ …"

"Um, Duke Eyelander?"

Biting her lip, Falcom called out to him with a hint of nervousness, unsure what will happen, but unfortunately (or not) the Eyelander didn't respond to her, only muttering a drawled " _Headdds…_ " like usual.

Perhaps it's best if she shut up for a little while. Give the Eyelander a moment to calm down in silence.

But just then, Falcom heard the doors opening behind her.

Immediately turning around, Falcom wasn't met with anyone _alive_ or a monster like she initially expected.

Instead she was met with a trio of green and transparent people. Two of which she recognized.

Her eyeballs nearly fell from their sockets when she saw _Histoire_ of all people. It was unmistakably her judging by the inhumanly small frame and the floating book. The fairy was looking very worriedly at the woman who resembled the destroyed statue. 'The Protector and the Leader of their nation', wearing an unbuttoned jacket with a tie and shorts, which were held by suspenders… What is this? The nineties?

Because all 3 of them were just transparent, green silhouettes, it was really hard to see what color her hair or clothes were. But that girl, looking pretty young, late-teens at most, was currently crying and clutching the third person who was entirely unfamiliar to Falcom. Having long, straight hair that reached her backside and wore a fitting-looking dress, the style was similar to what Falcom has seen the Oracle of Leanbox wearing. Just more… decent.

The moment Falcom spotted the trio, the girl with twintails collapsed and reduced herself to a crying mess. Histoire and the other woman, which Falcom dubbed as LH (for Long Hair), looked at the Twintails with pity and concern.

"...W-Why did it turn out like this?"

Twintails' voice cracked from grief, while LH crouched down to continue embracing and soothing the crying girl. LH wasn't actually speaking very quietly, so Falcom could clearly hear what she was whispering.

"You had no choice %&%#$, it was literally either us or them."

"B-But I k-killed them… t-those were my people and I-I still... Uaaaaah!"

With a grief-filled cry, Twintails' buried her face into LH's bosom who gently stroked her back, like a mother trying to soothe her child.

But something caught Falcom's attention. When LH tried to speak her name something happened, it's difficult to describe but it was like a rewinding a TV tape. Words were sped and jumbled up which made them unintelligible and impossible to hear…

It was a different case from the plaque, that one she could at least explain. This here was entirely weird.

"Pitiful." The Eyelander remarked and Falcom found herself nodding in agreement. Like before, those… holograms, doesn't seem to notice her listening in and they're strange in general. But even so Falcom felt a pang of worry gnawing inside her.

That girl was truly looking pitiful.

Still keeping her tight embrace, LH nodded to Histoire who tried to avert her gaze, either from respect or because her mind couldn't bear the sight. But the fairy still caught the woman's nod and stare, and as if understanding the delivered message she flew off. To where, Falcom couldn't see, as the fairy literally disintegrated right in front of the adventurer.

Spooky stuff. As if the wind blew away the particles which were composing her silhouette.

A moment later, LH and Twintails disappeared in a similar manner, leaving Falcom and the Eyelander alone with their confusion.

"Okay." Falcom deadpanned, followed by the sword coming with. "That happened."

They just witnessed a scene of the landlord crying out of nowhere, confessing to the murder of her own people (in self defense?) with Histoire of all people present. The siege engine, the statue, this... Are these true events of the past, replayed before them? How? Why?

Smiling awkwardly, Falcom 'cheerfully' suggested. "You know, this place is probably haunted or something. Maybe we should give up." Her smile was strained, her eyes darted from side to side to check for more weird things and she was sweating. No way the Eyelander wouldn't have caught that.

"I'll reassure you again that, besides my kindred spirit, there are no other ghosts haunting this castle." Falcom opened her mouth. "And no, before you mention, this isn't their doing. They're actually asleep right now so they couldn't have done that." Falcom closed her mouth, her argument shut down before she even had a chance to say it.

A question formed in Falcom's mind, which she was quick to voice out. "But if it's not them then who?" If it wasn't that other ghostly sword, and apparently there weren't any other ghosts haunting this place, then why the projections? Who's causing them?

Considering the question, the sword fell silent. He didn't sense anyone outside the castle and all the monsters were currently chased by Saxton Hale. But inside the castle… Oh, there's the culprit.

"Perhaps it is someone who's actually heading right here. Fast. On your third."

"Huh?"

Puzzled by his answer, Falcom turns her head to the right.

And heading straight towards her, was the dark magician.

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Interlude: Mysterious Lan Party**

* * *

Okay reader, place your bets. Who is the LH and Twintails? I'll already spoil you that these two are actually canon character. The dark magician and the businessman are OCs so they don't count. Only those two canon character.

And so we finish the 1st chapter of LAN Castle's mini-arc. It left you with a lot of question, right? It should.

The idea of Falcom interacting with ghosts came actually from the Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky (One of Falcom's games). Where Estelle Bright (the MC of the game) is afraid of ghosts. That's it, that's the entire inspiration. I also needed some way to include the Gehaburn into the story without going for a Conquest ending, so that's why Falcom is there.

Responses:

Samdaman95

Conquest is actually one of my favorite endings in the franchise. With so many games (JRPGs mostly) and anime where heroes wins with the power of friendship, seeing an ending like Conquest is a nice change of pace.

And also I love Corpse Party so there's also that.

Piggyslayer1235

He escaped early on and got itself killed, it's very dead not big surprise. (FUCK! I forgot about the bread tumors…)

kerrowe

There's your humor then, enjoy the rest of the fic. And Mercs ambushed Judge for the 1st time because they were trying to defeat the ASIC by taking out their leader first, letting the rest of the organization crumble.

\- Harmless Orange


	23. Interlude: Wraith Manifestation

**Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Interlude: Wraith Manifestation**

* * *

She didn't look hostile, but she also didn't look friendly. Cautious is the word the Eyelander would use.

She had a rather ordinary face, pretty even. Ruffled chestnut hair which reached her neck, freckles were scattered around her nose and cheek areas, and purple eyes gazed warily at Falcom, trying to determine if she's a friend or foe.

Falcom recognized the robes she's wearing, those are always given to novice magic-users. Hers were black with red lining and they were so long they reached her ankles. Her left hand was armed with a wooden staff, its end curved but lacked any kind of gems. She's probably an inexperienced magician - was Falcom's jugement.

"Pardon me. But why are you here?"

"Why should we tell you?"

The magician tried to ask politely, but the Eyelander sharply refused to answer. The ghost distrusted her but the woman herself was (expectedly) surprised by his presence. Her purple eyes widened and focused on the rusted sword hidden in Falcom's sheath.

The adventurer meanwhile, sweatdropped.

"Easy there, Duke Eyelander.-" "-Stop calling me that!" "-My name is Falcom, I'm an adventurer and my current partner, the sword Eyelander, was just interested in meeting someone hidden in this castle. So far our experiences here have been rather… weird."

Referencing the 'events' with a sheepish smile, Falcom reached out for a handshake. Not a shred of suspicion or ill will was inside her, she just tried to remove the other woman's doubt with kindness.

Snapping out from her shock, the magician shifted her gaze onto Falcom's hand, examining whether it was safe for her to reciprocate the gesture… but slowly she raised her hand and wrapped it around Falcom's own.

"...I'm Angela. I practice the dark arts."

In the depths of Falcom's mind, the words 'Called it' appeared. Angela's attire perfectly matches her profession, although Falcom won't voice such tactless thoughts. Instead, there was something else she wanted to ask. "So, tell me Angela. What are you doing here?" Now that they're acquaintanced, Falcom spoke to her like a friend. Which didn't really change her voice.

"Studying."

Angela hesitated a little, debating whenever or not to tell her this, but after a short moment she continued. "Before you and your ghostly partner arrived here, I was trying to create a few unique spells. The library here has plenty of books which can help me construct magic the likes of which have never been seen before."

She had a soft voice, but the way she used it betrayed no emotions. She stated facts, not opinions. But her words about the new kind of magic caught Falcom's attention. "Really!? Now you've got me interested! Can you show me some?" She knew a few simple spells she could use with her sword, but ever since she joined Nepgear and the others she stopped using them, because of that thing where no one can use magic near the CPU Candidate.

Angela however didn't answer her, instead she was turning around trying to find something.

"Then look over there, you can see them, right?"

Falcom turned her gaze to where Angela was pointing.

"Oh, Lady Histoire! Is Lady %&%#$ alright?"

What Angela was pointing at was another 'event'. This time it featured a generic guard wearing attire similar to a Basilicom worker, except more armored, and Histoire whose presence still confused the fuck out of Falcom.

Giving a salute to the fairy, the guard asked worriedly and seeing the Oracle's face didn't help it. But despite that Histoire still answered… her voice worried as well.

"She is fine, physically. But-" A moment of hesitation, something that the Eyelander didn't fail to notice. "-Just continue doing your work."

As the Eyelander briefly wondered why the fairy hesitated and eventually didn't answer, Falcom turned her gaze back to Angela. "So this is yours-?"

"Shh!"

Raising her hand the dark magician silenced the adventurer, her attention never leaving the event.

Faced with such a strange answer, especially coming from that person, the poor guard didn't know how to respond. "I-uh… I see." Scratching his temple with his gloved hands, the guard tried to think up some other, more comfortable topic, but before he could do such a thing Histoire beat him to it. "On another note, did you notice anything suspicious?"

The fairy asked that with her usual sense of calmness, but there was something which bothered the guard. He tried to think of anything suspicious he saw during his patrol, but nothing came up. Today was just another boring day to him. "Nothing actually, Lady Histoire."

Seeing him shake his head, the fairy acknowledged his words with a small nod. "I see, thank you. But please, I ask you to be more vigilant tonight. _Especially_ tonight."

With the way she emphasized that, and the events which were happening over the past few days, the guard could take a wild guess. "More assassins?"

This time it was Histoire who shook her head. "It is even worse, the citizens revolted and they are preparing to lay siege on us."

They were in truly a grave situation and the guard realized that.

All Falcom could see was his palling face before the event disappeared.

Right the next moment Angela started explaining, her hand rubbing her chin. "This is one of my creations. This spell, dubbed 'Wraith Manifestation' replays memories made by people in the past. I didn't expect it to have an area of effect however… I thought I casted it only on myself, but apparently I casted it on the castle in general, so when you touched the gate, the spell took effect on you."

So it's thanks to her Falcom nearly had a heart attack and can see those events… Holy-!

"Wait, so those are actual events of the past? Even the battering ram and the statue outside!?"

"Yes, they are. It creates a ghost-like image which allows you to see something that already happened. Wraiths are ghost-like images of a person, and this spell manifests them, hence 'Wraith Manifestation.'"

Learning a reason for the name, Falcom gaped back at the doors.

So those scenes were really authentical. Until now, no one managed find anything concrete telling this place's story or purpose, and now Falcom can literally see it with her own eyes, all thanks to the novice standing next to her… This girl will go places, Falcom is sure of it.

This journey is getting exciting!

As Falcom had her little amazement problem going, Angela was staring at the floor with her eyes narrowed. "Although I'm not sure why the name of this 'leader' is censored. In fact, aside from those Wraith Manifestations there is no information regarding this woman…"

It was like everything regarding her was wiped away, or she never existed in the first place...

* * *

Soon after the introductions, the Eyelander grew impatient and reminded Falcom about their goal. Having totally forgotten about that one for a moment, Falcom asked Angela if they could explore the castle a bit, but curious about that 'goal' Angela volunteered to go with her.

"So what is this 'kindred spirit' you're searching for?" Asked Angela. She noted that the Eyelander was leading them into a very specific location, as he immediately ordered her to go upstairs. The scenery didn't change much, just different paintings hanged on the walls or flowers being put around the hallways. Somehow those were still alive and not fake at all.

"They're someone who is in the same predicament as me, another soul trapped within a sword… Do you know anything about this?"

Angela had been here for much longer than either of those two, and should know more than either of them, so when the Eyelander yearned for knowledge, she was the obvious candidate to ask.

Closing her eyes in thought Angela fell silent. The thinking process took only 2 seconds before she gave her answer. "I did hear a few rumors actually."

"Really? What did they say?" Asked Falcom. Just like the Eyelander, she also grew curious to hear about that kindred spirit. And the supposed fame as an adventurer she'll gain after finding it and uncovering LAN Castle's secrets… The adventurer can already feel it but she knows her luck will somehow screw her over. That's just life…

Harsh.

But Falcom put those depressing thoughts aside, and eagerly listened to Angela's lecture. "Apparently this sword was wielded by Hilda Gehaburn, and the blade took her family name. According to the Wraith Manifestations I have seen; Hilda was a former friend of the landlord, but for some reason she turned on her and tried to kill her. Why? I dunno. But that's what I learned with my powers. What the rumor did say, is that Gehaburn is a blade forged specifically to defeat the Deity of Sin. Nothing more."

"The Deity of Sin…" The Eyelander mused. "This is that apparent goddess the ASIC are trying to revive, correct?"

Arfoire, Histoire informed the mercenaries about her. Her revival is the ASIC's true and only goal, and someone the mercs and Nepgear will have to face if they do manage to resurrect her. If, that is.

The Eyelander thinks it's hilarious. Their determination to do everything so the Deity of Sin will come back is remarkable, despite the fact they will be destroyed regardless of their choice. Either from the mercs or by the Deity herself. They're like a suicidal cult.

Falcom however had her breath caught in her throat. A blade forged to defeat the Deity of Sin?! If that's true then she MUST inform Histoire about this. With a weapon like this they won't need to fear the ASIC even if Arfoire manages to get revived. They'll have a counter prepared for her!

Steeling her resolve, and silently thanking her partner for finding this, Falcom looked at Angela, her eyes serious. "Do you know more? Anything will help, please."

Her demands were met with Angela's questioning gaze. "Why are you getting so worked up about it? Do you want to fight the ASIC with it?"

"Yes, of course! Don't you?"

For Falcom, her mission and goal were clear as day, but Angela didn't seem to share in her convictions, as she questioned with her eyes narrowing. "Don't misunderstand me now, but why do you want to defeat the ASIC? I don't see any benefits in fighting them, especially with the CPUs gone-"

" **No, that's wrong!** "

Shouting… for perhaps the first time in her entire life, Falcom cuts the magician off, her orange eyes basically drilling deep holes into Angela's soul. Flames were dancing inside her eyes, flames of determination which could rival Soldier's. "The CPUs aren't defeated yet! Nepgear is still fighting and so are the other Candidates! The fight isn't over yet!"

Even the Eyelander was surprised by Falcom's fury, no one could predict that mentioning the end of CPUs was the button to set off the adventurer… Angela just stood there frozen in shock. She didn't mean to trigger Falcom…

"The ASIC needs to be brought down. Their piracy is ruining gaming, developers won't release more games because of the illegal downloads. They're losing money which could be put into good use-"

"Okay, okay, we get it. The ASIC is bad and they should feel bad. You can stop now."

Cutting Falcom's rant short, the Eyelander sighed tiredly… Why are those 'games' the only thing crossing those girl's minds? Even Histoire is like that.

But either way, Falcom ruffled the back of her head in embarrassment. "Sorry… got a little carried away. Ehehe." Angela who finally snapped out of shock could only shake her head at Falcom's antics. This was truly one silly girl she just met…

"So you want is to stop the ASIC's piracy, correct?" This is how Angela understood it at least. With the CPUs gone, the number of piracy and illegal downloads skyrocketed because there is no CPU to stop them. But once the goddesses return, the downloads should gradually decrease.

"That's right! I want to help my friend, Nepgear stop the ASIC! We even managed to rescue CPU White Heart just a few hours ago!"

Pumping her fist, Falcom confirms her words with enthusiasm. But something weird happened to Angela. Her breath caught in her throat and her eyes widened, as if she has seen something impossible. "Y-You? A friend of the CPU Candidate?"

Something about the tone of her voice confused Falcom, she couldn't figure out what it was but even so she nodded, albeit slowly, as if this motion would trigger Angela to commit a killing spree.

"Yes, I am."

"I see. I was just surprised." And just like that, whatever it was in her voice disappeared completely.

But no matter how much she tried to hide it, it bothered Falcom. In fact the more she tried to hide whatever that was the more disturbed the adventurer would be…

* * *

They walked not in silence, but with never-stopping idle conversations. It was usually the more outgoing Falcom leading the conversation, but the dark magician patiently answered the adventurer's questions or threw her own bits here and there.

Of course they met with some Wraith Manifestations, and stopped a few times to watch and listen, but those were just some guards and maids gossiping. Besides a few occasional bits that were mildly interesting, there wasn't anything significant. She met a Child, Bunny Ears, Guard and Braid but Twintails or Histoire never appeared again.

"Stop. It's here."

All of a sudden, the Eyelander abruptly ordered. Falcom and Angela of course obeyed the command and looked at the doors in front of them. Angela read the tag next to them.

"The Landlord's office?"

The doors weren't anything noteworthy, just simple wooden doors like you can find in a furniture shop. Like with everything else in this castle, the landlord's name were just some random symbols instead of her real name. It stopped being mysterious after the 3rd time and was just weird now.

Without a word, Angela opened the doors and walked in with Falcom coming behind her.

For some reason this office wasn't like the rest of the castle. What Falcom expected was a clean and tidy room, but all she got was a dusty mess. It did look like a workplace of some high standing figure but it hasn't been used in a long while… This room was actually how Falcom imagined the rest of the castle should've looked like.

The redhead looked around the room, but wherever she looked there's a layer of dust building up. "Well, this certainly doesn't look like the rest of this castle. Everything else was clean but here's a mess."

As usual, Angela came to explain. "That's because I didn't bother to clean here, this isn't a room I was often using." This was their routine as they kept roaming around the castle; Falcom leads the conversation and Angela follows along. But this time Falcom additionally freaked out to her answer. "Wait. So you're _living_ in this castle!?"

"Yes." Shamelessly confessed the dark magician, taking Falcom off guard.

It wasn't uncommon for people, especially adventurer and Guild members, to camp in the wilds away from civilisation, but to permanently live outside a city was very rare among people. Without the barrier set up around the major cities, the risk of getting attacked by monsters was just too large.

And yet, Angela confessed of doing just that. What a madwoman.

"This castle's library is a surplus of knowledge helpful for my studies. It was more convenient for me to just stock up supplies and get myself comfortable in here."

"Aha… So you live here all by yourself? Isn't that a bit lonely?"

"I'm fine with being all by myself, no one distracts me from my studies."

With the way Angela shrugged off Falcom's concern, it was like she indirectly told the adventurer that she's bothering her. Which she herself didn't notice, but the Eyelander did.

The end of that conversation marked another Wraith Manifestation, featuring Twintails sitting by the desk and Histoire and LH standing by the exit.

Falcom actually never saw LH again after their initial meeting, the adventurer wondered where she was…

And now she also noticed the weapon holstered on LH's back; it was something you could call a spear, but it was armed with not one, but _four_ blades on the end.

"Are you feeling okay, %&%#$ ?"

Beginning the event with this question, LH crossed her arms. She and Histoire still looks worriedly at Twintails, but the landlord looked much better than when Falcom saw her for the first time. She kept her eyes closed and her head supported with both of her arms. She was considering something. "Yeah, I've calm. Sorry for worrying you." She apologized with a sigh.

Faced with her apology, Histoire took a step forward- err rather she hovered a bit forward. "You do not need to apologize. Anyone would react-"

"Yeah I get it, but I'm the CPU of this nation! I am supposed to protect and lead those people!"

Slamming her fist onto the desk the landlord glared daggers at Histoire, who dared to try to comfort her. But the landlord's anger passed just as quickly as it began. "Sorry about this." She apologized again.

"You do not need to apologize." Reassured Histoire for the second time. Twintails looked at her funnily, maybe she repeated herself for some sort of weird comedy value, or maybe not, but Twintails found something in it to laugh about.

"Yeah, alright Histoire."

"It doesn't seem like the people will stop, right?" This time Twintails faced LH for an answer and was met with a grave shake of her head.

"They're all determined to bring you down, we tried diplomacy but they turned it down... You're not going to use your pow-"

"Nope, not happening." Upon hearing the suggestion, Twintails immediately shot it down. "It's because of my power they're doing this, they're just afraid, Arfoire, they're scared… I have a better plan." For some reason a part of the wall emitted a green sheen, but Falcom ignored it for the sake of a much more important detail.

Like the fact that the woman with Long Hair is actually _Arfoire!_ This freaked out Falcom more than anything, this person named Arfoire. Is she a different person or are they in the same room with the _Deity of Sin,_ the goddess worshipped by the ASIC? Wait! She's actually an acquaintance of the landlord and _Histoire!?_ The same freaking Histoire in Planeptune? _!?_

What!?

Stammering like a broken record, Falcom asked for confirmation. "I-I-I heard her correctly, right? This woman is actually Arfoire!?" She points her finger at LH while her sword utters "I'm speechless."

Angela, who is actually the most calm out of the trio, smirks at their reaction and following the usual pattern she calmly confirms what Falcom has said. "You're correct. This woman's name is Arfoire, although I'm not entirely sure if she's actually the Deity of Sin or just another woman named Arfoire."

There was a hint of smugness to her usual calm posture, as if she enjoyed watching the confusion on Falcom's face. Well, Falcom did make a funny face when she was freaking out though, so that was understandable.

"Oh, so she's a different person then?"

"Maybe, maybe not."

Shrugging at Falcom's hopeful question, Angela quite unexpectedly teased her with an even more smug smirk on her face.

On another note, the Eyelander grew dubious towards what he saw. "I'm starting to doubt the credibility of this. You're probably messing with us right now." Ever since the beginning, those Wraith Manifestation were very strange, suspicious even. They were interesting at first but now they showed events which can't be even logically explained.

No historian or archaeologist has discovered this information before, so is this the actual truth or just some BS coming from a prankster?

Although the sheer dedication put into this makes him think this isn't some sort of prank the lazy youth likes to do. It wouldn't be worth going that far just for some kick and giggles, especially when not many people came here.

Maybe the dark magician is just delusional? That could work.

"My Wraith Manifestation replays memories that people have created. Everything you have seen here is true but believe what you want, I don't care. The Manifestation has ended by the way."

She wasn't bothered by his accusation at all, she just pointed out that the event has ended and they were left alone in the office. No Wraiths, no green lights, nothing. Falcom didn't actually notice the end because she was too busy freaking out over the shocking reveal, but now that it's over, she noticed that there is nowhere else to go.

"Oh. So where next, Duke Eyelander?"

Reflexively telling Falcom to stop calling him that, the Eyelander focused on his senses. He easily picked the shortest path leading to his kindred spirit. "I sense that we need to pass through the wall, although interestingly enough the entrance seems to be behind where the wall shone during the Manifestation."

"It's funny how you distrust my Manifestation, and yet you still follow them." Remarked Angela, amused by the Eyelander's words, although her face doesn't show anything like that. On the other hand, the Eyelander felt distraught that this delusional woman dared to suggest such a thing.

"I'm just following the wavelengths the Gehaburn is emitting. It's a coincidence."

"Okay."

The Eyelander perceived that as the ever annoying 'Oh really~?' which pissed him off, but before sparks appeared Falcom stepped in and stopped the argument from escalating. "Okay stop. We need to break through this wall, right? So how can we even achieve that?"

Falcom didn't bring anything to demolish a building, nor will she use the Eyelander. It would anger both him and Demoman. Angela could probably blow it up with her magic, but the dark magician already had a different solution. "There's no need to destroy anything, there's actually a hidden entrance behind this wall. And from what I gathered during this Manifestation, the switch seems to be somewhere on the desk."

As she talked, Angela neared the desk and crouched underneath it. The chestnut-haired girl let her bare hands run through the layer of dust glued to the surface, searching for any suspicious bulge or indents. Falcom gave her a few seconds of silence before she decided to speak up.

"Did you find anything?"

Her answer was an unbearable sound of rocks scraping against each other, it sent chills down her spine as the wall shifted and slowly showed what it hid. To Angela's credit it was that same spot the Wraith Manifestation highlighted a mere minute ago.

The cause of this phenomenon popped her head from under the desk, and seeing the newly opened path she stood up and dusted her robe. "See? My Wraith Manifestation was right." She said triumphantly, getting a tired sigh from the Eyelander.

"It's a coincidence."

"No it isn't!"

Falcom could only sigh when yet another argument started. A few hundred year old ghost and a practitioner of dark arts… bickering like little children.

But what she has in front of her is pretty cool.

"So this is what a secret passage looks like… This castle is probably full of them." She mused to herself. In every book she read featuring some sort of castle, there was always some event where someone needs to utilize one. And today she found her own one…

It was a spiral staircase which led downwards, this passage showing how old this place truly was. It was unmaintained, with bits of walls missing here and there. It lacked any decorations, as both walls and steps themselves were just white rock. The air also felt cool and damp, as if it was a cave or basement at the very least. And most importantly it was dark, nothing illuminated the passage and Falcom can't be sure about the state of the steps, they looked like they could crumble under her weight.

"Hey, Angela. Do you have a light?"

During her travels, Falcom met many magicians who knew spells to light up a path. Apparently it is a pretty basic one and easy to learn, provided you got enough SP and talent to learn it. So even though she's still a novice, Angela may have some spell like that.

The dark magician paused in mid-argument and looked at Falcom, then at the entrance behind the adventurer.

She's asking for some light, eh? This is her cue.

"Move aside, let me handle it."

At her command, the adventure sidestepped and gave Angela some breathing space. The dark magician stared at the staircase before her; she doesn't know how far it goes, but probably the whole passage won't have any light.

Perfect.

Raising her staff, Angela began the spell.

"Assemble shadows, gather in one place and let light uncover what you shrouded in darkness. Black Hole!"

With this chunni one liner, Angela tapped the floor with her staff. Falcom immediately saw the results; A black spherical… globe(?) appeared by the curved end of the staff. It wasn't emitting any light which wasn't what Falcom wanted, but she couldn't voice her thoughts. Just staring at that thing made her feel weird, she couldn't place what it was but it felt… wrong. For some reason.

"If you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes into you. Don't stare, just follow me."

Angela's words snapped her back to reality, but before the adventurer could fully register what she just said, the dark magician was already descending the stairs, the path now visible enough to traverse even without a new light source.

As Falcom hurried to follow her, the Eyelander mused to himself, his voice grave, _afraid_ even. "Doing something like this is just wrong, even by my standards."

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Interlude: Wraith Manifestation**

* * *

And that's a hell of a reveal right there. Who would have thought that the LH, who is apparently known by Histoire and the CPU of the past is actually Arfoire? And there are few more secrets left to unreveal, just wait.

Responses:

Piggyslayer1235

I'll reassure you that no one from Nepgear's group will die (pernamently), at least not in this arc. As for Gray Mann, they're actually scheduled to meet him in the next arc. For now all you'll be seeing is him doing whatever he is doing in the Gamindustri.

Bropower125

Well the LH is already uncovered, let's wait and see if you're right on Twintails though.

BreadNotDead (Wow, 4 reviews in a row)

Nepgear's weird behavior during the fight with CFW Judge is completely armor's fault. Yes, she was interested in taking him apart but her unstable mind was Judge's new armor fault. Like Sniper said it's something that have similar properties to Australium, which have similar properties to gold. The answer is already there in earlier chapters.

Now that the story has reached a new arc, time for some changes. And one of them will be more casual scenes where characters are just enjoying their lives.

If Nepgear's shares actually reached this threshold where she would be constantly dying and Re:Spawning, I think Histoire would just pull to cut her suffering short. Then the Oracle would weep all the way until after the funeral or whatever people are doing when the CPU dies.

Either that, or she would work twice as hard to regain lost shares and keep Nepgear alive.

Falcom doesn't have enough love, so I'm giving her an entire mini-arc dedicated to her and the Eyelander.

It's still technically a crossover, so why not?

\- Harmless Orange


	24. Interlude: Corpse Party

**Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Interlude: Corpse Party**

* * *

The path was now visible, but not in a way Falcom imagined.

She can't really understand how this is happening, but this spell, whatever Angela has cast, _it removes shadows,_ literally. The dark magician wasn't joking around when she said 'gather in one place', as her spell literally sucks the darkness into that orb on her staff.

Words cannot fully explain this phenomenon. Black goops of something, looking similar to Dogoo jelly, were removed from walls and objects and sucked into this sphere like a vacuum cleaner. There's also this unexplainable anxiety. Ever since Angela has cast this spell, Falcom and the Eyelander felt a certain unease, instinctively afraid of something…

But even so the results were incredible. The areas where the darkness was removed were fully visible to Falcom, as if they were sprayed with fluorescent substance or she suddenly gained night vision without staying in the darkness for a moment.

Unlike other spells which shines light to illuminate the path, this spell removes the darkness which obstruct vision.

What was really freaky though is how everything a few meters away was completely dark, except for a trail showing the path they took. It was like they were uncovering a map in an open-world video game.

Perhaps that's what they're really doing, clearing a dungeon from the fog of war.

When they reached the end of the stairs, Falcom and Angela were met with a pair of broken down doors. No Wraith Manifestations or monsters to jump at them, just a simple gate blocking the path.

Falcom reached out to open them but the adventurer jumped away in fright when the doors simply fell off the hinges. All it took was a touch of the finger to bring both of them crashing down onto the floor.

They froze as the sound echoed through the entire dungeon, awaiting anything to happen. In this moment of stillness Angela could see the interior of this secret area they found. The checkered floor and finely decorated walls were just like in the main areas of the castle, with sole exception of them being in faded blue colors, Falcom wasn't sure if this was Angela's Black Hole's fault or the that was their real color.

Another thing she noticed was the presence of many cobwebs and the dank and damp air. Presumably no one has been here in ages.

All of a sudden Falcom drew her sword and was put on guard, Angela's purple eyes stared at the battered and old claymore which holds a malevolent spirit. During her studies she learnt a few things about possessed weapons, but this is the first time she's seen one from up close.

"Headdds..."

He whispered, and through the thick layer of webs Falcom and Angela spotted them. Those countless eyes staring at them from the darkness, too many to bother counting.

They have left the safe areas, now they need to fight.

* * *

...Or only Falcom needs to fight… whatever.

Angela was already ready to lay waste to the monsters with her dark magic, however before she could even channel her powers Falcom stepped, or rather dashed, forward. All the monsters focused on her, too close for Angela to support her, leaving nothing for her to do but to stand still and look pretty.

Falcom swung the Eyelander to her right, following all the way to her left side. This wide attack caught several monsters trying to jump on her. The sole lucker who ended up unharmed tried to jump onto her back, but without even glancing at it Falcom kicked it aside, its head now missing.

"...Head…"

There were only 2 types of monsters attacking them, or only Falcom actually. One of those were small blue ghosts that either tried to headbutt Falcom or attack her with magic. A few of those were also wearing pink bows around their antenna poking out of their heads.

The other ones, which consisted of a majority of the attackers, were black and blue spiders. Big enough to reach waist. Those were always trying to claw the adventurer with their sharp legs, a feat easier said than done considering Falcom's fighting ability.

Being away from this massacre, Angela felt amazement as she watched Falcom fight off all of those monsters, by herself. Every movement was so fast that they were a blur, each of her strikes were frighteningly accurate, nothing could catch her unaware and nothing could sneak up on her. It was like she saw everything from 3rd person, or someone with amazing awareness was guiding her body.

If it's the latter, then the Eyelander must be the culprit. Spirits can sense every living and dead being within miles, it would be no exaggeration to say that the Gehaburn already knows that they're here. If they're truly a spirit possessing a sword.

It was unneeded for Angela to support her. Falcom and Eyelander were doing fine taking care of the monsters, and the tight corners ensures that nothing gets past her. In fact if Angela tried to interfere, she would just make the situation worse.

Feeling calmer than before, the dark magician could focus on different things. Like searching for more Wraith Manifestations, for example. She doesn't know this area, but there must be plenty of memories to dig up. Maybe something will even be useful to her goal...

Blood showered Falcom's entire body; warm, sticky liquid covered her entirely. Something that Falcom was familiar with, but it was rare for even her to literally bathe in it. Seriously, with all of those spiders jumping over her head the adventurer might as well spill a bucket of it over her head.

She'll definitely jump into the lake after all of this, and then get a solid laundry.

No one could see the end of them, whenever Falcom decapitated one, 2 more took its place. Fortunately there wasn't enough space for the spiders and ghosts to overwhelm her. If Soldier had seen this, he would compare it to the Battle of Thermopylae, one of the most famous last stands of Earth, where 300 Spartans, 700 Thespians, and 400 Thebans, fought to the death against Persians.

But here, it's just Falcom and the Eyelander against an endless army of spiders and ghost-like monsters.

Somehow she felt no fatigue, both when she ran through the Virtua Forest and here, as if just holding the Eyelander gave her infinite stamina. The Eyelander also hinted where she should swing, how and how fast. This saved her many times from getting a few holes in her back and allowed her to move much faster than she could ever normally hope so.

No matter how many times they jump at her, they can't stop her.

As Falcom fought, Angela scanned the surrounding area. Flying blood and limbs hindered her vision but the dark magician picked up something. It was a Wraith, 2 of them in fact, supporting each other as they limped towards her. Falcom was probably too busy to notice them but Angela gave it her full attention.

They spoke no words, but they continued limping towards her. Wounded, tired, probably even half-dead, but even so they pressed on towards the exit.

She could see that both of them were girls, wearing some sort of armor. Although by their look, the dark magician is either wrong in her assumption, or their armor is heavily damaged. Their other characteristic was their hairstyle, with the less injured-looking girl having a long ponytail, while the other one had short hair. She was also dragging some sort of blade, perhaps a beam type. It was plain looking but it was very broad.

Angela waited for any of them to say something, even growing impatient by their silence. But to her annoyance, both Wraiths simply disappeared upon reaching the magician. Not even a word left their phantom mouths.

Angela released a disappointed sigh. "Well, that happened." She was having her hopes up but that also disappeared alongside the Wraiths.

"Happened, what?"

"Ghk-! By the darkness of Gehenna, Falcom, do that again and I'll die of a heart attack!"

All of a sudden Falcom asked from behind Angela, scaring her and making her clutch her chest in order to calm her beating heart. Taking the magician's venomous glare head-on, the redhead sheepishly smiled at her. "Sorry, sorry." She apologised, but Angela still continued glaring at the still blood-covered Falcom. Red and yellow blood stained her clothes and dripped out of her limbs. She's in a dire need of a bath or at least a towel.

"So what was that about? Learned anything new?"

Maybe it's better to change the subject - was Falcom's decision right now. She was too busy to bother listening to it but Angela might know more, as she was staying idle through the fight. It also stopped her from trying to figure out how Falcom even managed to sneak up on her. The adventurer was all but buried under a horde of monsters last time Angela checked.

"Unfortunately I learned nothing useful. While I didn't recognize any of those Wraiths that appeared, they said literally nothing, simply limping towards me in silence."

"Aww."

So they learnt nothing.

Angela took a moment to glance at Falcom's line of defense, and her eyes basically shot out of their sockets.

The surrounding area was littered with cadavers and blood, which was to be expected, but Angela wasn't prepared for the sheer quantity of it. Piles upon piles of spider's corpses reached her chest and the layer of their blood was so thick that someone might even slip on it.

And in the midst of that, was a relatively clean space. Well, compared to its surroundings… it's pretty clear where Falcom was standing during the entire battle.

"On a different topic, I must praise you on your incredible fighting skills. I initially feared that you might be overwhelmed, but you handled yourself pretty well."

Falcom blushed at the received praise, scratching her neck as she tried to shrug it off. "Ehehehe… Aw, it's thanks to Duke Eyelander."

Said Duke now regrets sharing his past with someone who actually is capable of remembering things. With a groan he told Falcom to finally stop calling him that but as always it fell on deaf ears. "I would appreciate if you helped next time, this woman will be dead by the next wave."

His words, the part where he says that she'll be dead by the next wave, confused and bothered the adventurer. "Huh? Why?"

"Do you realize just how much pain you're currently in."

And the answer didn't really help understanding what the Eyelander meant by that. Falcom focused on her body, but she felt nothing but the sensation of being covered in blood. "Actually, I feel fine."

The ghost might as well shake his head in disapproval as he explained. "This is because I'm currently keeping it numb. How do you feel… now?"

"Oooohhh ho ho ho hooo..."

The instant he said 'now', Falcom felt an unimaginable soreness and pain washing over her entire body. It felt like she's been working out for an entire week straight, every inch of her body screamed for attention and begged for rest. And yes it was literally every inch of her body. Every strand of muscle felt like it was going to rip out soon. The pain and fatigue hit her so suddenly and with such force that Falcom fell down immediately upon feeling it, like a puppet detached from strings.

Seeing Falcom pathetically sprawled on the ground, feeling too tired to even move into a more comfortable position sparked a seed of concern in Angela. She doesn't know any healing magic but this obviously marked a break in their investigation. Also thanks to this peculiar position, Angela managed to learn the color and type of panties Falcom wore today.

This leaves her wondering how weird it is that she can actually recognize the brand by just a panty shot.

"See, help next time." Said the Eyelander, sounding so innocent that it was actually pretty scary.

"Duly noted."

* * *

"Arise! Contracted souls of the deceased, arise! Your contractor calls upon thy service! Familiar's Vow!"

After helping Falcom settle into a more comfortable position (which the adventurer was very grateful for), the dark magician took a piece of chalk and drew some glyphs on the ground.

After speaking another chuuni incantation, said glyphs turned black and disappeared one by one, as if sucked in by the earth itself.

For a moment, nothing happened and silence fell upon them. But suddenly...

Cracks began to appear in the hard ground, followed by arms breaking through the floor. The comically green, rotting skin was all too familiar to the adventurer. Undead. But something was wrong, as no foul smell reached Falcom's nose. The adventurer's eyes widened in surprise as the entire torso of the undead person broke through, just as violently as before.

It wasn't just one person though, wherever a glyph was drawn, an undead rose in its place. Soon Falcom was staring at not just one, but two DOZEN zombies standing in front of them, waiting for something. They did not smell and they weren't dirty either… for a bunch of undead people who just broke out of the ground, they looked surprisingly clean. Somehow they managed to climb out of the ground without crumbling or even dirtying their fancy outfits. In fact, Falcom could call them a group of undead butlers and maids.

"Do not feel fear. As long as I don't tell them to hurt you, you're safe."

Angela sensed Falcom's unrest. It was understandable. Because of her fatigue the adventurer couldn't react to a group of undead appearing in front of her, and the undead themselves were always shunned by society.

The Eyelander also grew strangely silent, probably pondering over something.

The dark magician tapped the floor with her staff, catching the attention of all summoned undead. "Me and my guests shall take a break here. I ask you to prepare us some food and drinks and also clean up this messy place."

As she finished her orders, the undead immediately got into realizing them. Instead of a slow shuffle that Falcom expected from nearly skeletal beings, the undead staff worked quite fast and efficient, with some of them cleaning up the blood and bodies using mops they pulled out from… somewhere, and others were setting up a table and chairs. The origin of the furniture was also unknown to Falcom. Magic would be the most logical explanation for this phenomenon, the undeads' surprising mobility included.

* * *

It didn't take long for Falcom, now as clean as it would be possible, to find herself seated at the white circular table, moaning in pleasure as an undead maid skillfully massaged her shoulders. Her hands, despite looking rotten and ugly, smelled nicely and felt nice on her skin.

Her hands were really darn skilled, efficiently relaxing her muscles and relieving them of soreness.

"Ohhh… this feels good… a bit to the right please. More, more, yeeeeaaahhh…"

Angela, who sat on the opposite side of the table, watched Falcom melting in the maid's arms with amusement. "I see that you have taken to liking Zeta's skillful hands. She's the best masseuse out of all my Familiars." The magician remarked as she sipped her coffee, prepared in a very specific way by her personal butler, who patiently awaited orders from the brunette.

"You know- uwah! I-I thought you're the only one living here…" Falcom asked, slightly jumping when Zeta's cold hands started getting more vigorous, like they just warmed up to her body.

Angela nodded at her words, setting down the cup. "I do live here alone, but since I couldn't maintain such a big castle alone, I have created pacts with spirits to help me with daily chores; they clean the hallways, repair broken things, do the laundry and cook for me, while I supply them with SP for them to 'live'. It's a symbiotic relationship, I maintain a form for them in this world, and they help me live here."

The Eyelander considered her words, a symbiotic relationship between a spirit and a human. Services for prolonging the divine judgment in the afterlife. It wasn't an unheard thing to him, they could actually be his Kindred Spirits as well, in their own way…

But the fact that he couldn't sense any of them until they arrived is disturbing… Where were they hiding? Except the magician and Falcom, their surroundings were devoid of any spirits. Even when Angela met them, he didn't sense anything, human or monster.

"I see, but those servants, where were they this entire time? When we entered the castle, the only one I sensed was you."

Are they able to mask themselves from him? Now that they've appeared, he can feel that they're younger than him, but in this world where magic is an everyday thing, anything is possible.

Angela pressed her hands to her cheeks, frowning at the former monarch's words. "I do not know the answer to this question. As you can see, I am a mortal, therefore my sense of the Astral Layer is significantly dulled, if you couldn't sense them then it's obvious I wouldn't be able to neither."

The ghost killed an urge to sigh as she raised a good point. Humans and living creatures in general have troubles sensing supernatural beings. They're dull by default.

Suddenly, Zeta bent over Falcom to get better access to her back. Angela had a full view of Falcom's comical expression while the adventurer's short skirt exposed her underwear to Zeta, but the undead maid's focus fell solely on massaging her entire back, not just shoulder.

"H-Hey! T-that tickles! AH! Where are you touching!?"

Falcom yelped, feeling Zeta's cold hands touching her exposed back. Angela and the Eyelander could see Zeta slightly smirking as she continued her massage. The table quivered because of their movements and there was a sudden danger of Angela's hot coffee spilling, but the dark magician prevented such catastrophe from happening by picking up the cup with a disapproving glare.

But she couldn't keep it for long, and eventually giggled. The reason why, was how Falcom's expression changed each time Zeta touched the adventurer's side with her hands.

Today Angela, the Eyelander and Zeta learnt that Falcom was ticklish. And the maid will use this information to her full advantage.

As Falcom squirmed under Zeta's grasp, the Eyelander and Angela resumed their conversation.

"Changing the topic, why did they accept your proposal? Were all of them criminals?"

"Yes, they weren't exactly upstanding citizens. Thieves, pirates, kidnappers. They were sure that Lady Magnavox, commonly known as the True Goddess, would reject their souls from Celestia, forcing them to become one with the Gamindustri Graveyard. Or to become a common monster like you're seeing everywhere in Gamindustri."

"Huh…?"

Suddenly, Falcom stopped moving to stare at Angela with wide eyes. Those eyes had only one questions to ask.

 _Wait… so all those monsters. They were actually other humans!?_

Falcom bore her gaze into the dark magician, daring her to answer this question. This was a huge deal to her…

If they really were other humans, who once died, does that make her a common murderer?

Hell, does that make _every adventurer_ a murderer!?

Slaying monsters is a commonly picked job, it's needed because monsters are a constant threat to cities and citizens. Hundreds of people dedicated to arts of battle go out and kill dozens of monsters on a daily basis. This routine is practiced even by the CPUs, the protectors of nations.

If what she was killing weren't some emotionless killing machines, but former people who've already experienced death...

The answer to this casual slip of the tongue may even determine if Falcom will be able to even continue being an adventurer.

"…"

Angela says nothing, just staring at the violated heroine with a passive gaze. This agonizing silence gnawed deep into her mind, making it one of the most unbearable moments in her life. Not even Zeta's heavenly massage offsetted this, this also seemed to affect the maid though. While she didn't say anything (as usual, dead people can't talk), her concern was shown by her frown, as if she couldn't decide if Angela should be even telling her this.

But the dark magician gave her answer.

"I don't know."

…

…

…

" _You_ don't know?"

This wasn't spoken by Falcom, but by the Eyelander. By his tone, the ghost was annoyed by her answer. Up until now, she had a ready answer for anything that they asked her, but conveniently she doesn't have one for the answer that seems to bother Falcom the most.

Infuriating, absolutely infuriating.

The dark magician lowered her gaze, staring at the sword lying against the table. "It is impossible to get a correct answer for this kind of question, and then share it with someone. After all, it is one of those hypotheses about the afterlife. 'Are monsters really former humans?' Only the True Goddess can tell for sure. But the people who submitted this theory of reincarnation were, surprisingly, clinically dead before being brought back to life, claiming to have seen life through the eyes of Dogoos or Fenrirs."

"That's a pretty dark theory, considering that most of the people here seem to enjoy killing monsters." Remarks the Eyelander once Angela finished her lecture.

Reincarnation: the rebirth of a soul in a new body. One of the basic theories on what happens once someone dies. Their fleshy body passes away, but their soul lives on as a different being. If you think deeply about this, then the Eyelander may be right. It's a very dark theory once you consider how spread out and cultured monster hunting is in Gamindustri.

"You shouldn't have said anything like that unless we needed it to proceed. Look, the poor girl's terrified."

"I understand, my apologies. That was a bit tactless of me."

The dark magician wastes no time to apologize to Falcom, who her unproven hypothesis seemed to deeply affect. She was staring at the floor with an empty, blank gaze, questioning each choice she took until now. Even when dealing with death this poor girl's heart stays innocent. A good trait.

Even Zeta was concerned, a deep frown remained on her face the entire time Angela was speaking, but her hands never stopped even for a moment, like she tried to reassure Falcom with them.

"Tell me, what do you think of Lady Nepgear or Lady Histoire?"

* * *

Falcom's brain paused for a moment, trying to process this unexpected attempt at changing the topic. "Huh?" To her, it came very suddenly and out of nowhere. But Angela felt that it was an appropriate course of action, after all the adventurer lying in front of her was clearly uncomfortable with the previous topic. As such she brought a new thing to discuss, namely the CPU Candidate of Land of Purple Progress.

"The CPU Candidate of Planeptune, Lady Nepgear. And the Oracle of Planeptune, Lady Histoire. What do you think of those two?" She repeated, her voice even clearer than the last time.

Falcom took a moment to think of an answer, roughly 4 seconds before she opened her mouth. "Well… I'm friends with Nepgear, and Histoire is nice too. Duke Eyelander's owner is even employed to her! Histoire, I mean."

The nobility in question would facepalm if he could. "You're not going to stop with that, are you?" He deadpanned, Angela could feel the air around her grow colder, for some reason. "Also, she didn't need to hear that last part."

"I… remember you saying that before." The dark magician looked away, gripping her staff tightly. Perhaps even too tightly but no one noticed that. "How did you two meet?"

"Nepgear and her group of mercenaries helped me and that other girl, Nisa was her name, take out an Ancient Dragon that was terrorizing the Virtua Forest after the warehouses blew up. You heard about that?"

"Yes… I very well remember that… incident."

She turned her gaze onto the floor, looking at it pretty deeply. Mournfully. This time the Eyelander noticed her behavior, after all this was an expression he knows very well. "Anything happened to you during that time?"

"...Yes… but I don't want to talk about it."

It was Falcom's turn to feel guilty, then she flinched when Zeta's hands wandered where they shouldn't. "Aiiie!" The adventurer yelped, turning towards Zeta who stood a few feet away from her. For some reason.

Hold on a second.

She moved.

Falcom moved.

She moved and nothing hurt the moment she moved.

It was just then, Falcom noticed that she, in fact, has moved.

…

…

…

Her soreness has disappeared.

…

…

…

Yup. It's fully gone.

It took her a while to notice it, and then another to grow confident enough to stand on her own legs. But when she did so, she found no pain, no cramps or soreness. She felt refreshed and ready to move.

It was such a shock to Falcom that she had to blink to fully take in this information.

"Hey, I feel great! Thanks Zeta!" The adventurer shot the maid a grateful smile, giving her also a thumb up for the great work. The undead maid responded at this by grabbing the hems of her uniform and kneeling slightly.

"Is that so? Then we can finally move."

"Wait! Can we wait for a moment later? I want to hear more about Lady Nepgear."

While the Eyelander wanted to move out as fast as possible, Angela surprisingly wanted to stay and hear more about the CPU Candidate, creating a conflict of interests that only Falcom could solve.

The two of them, or only Angela actually, stared at Falcom, awaiting her decision. The Eyelander isn't able to force Falcom to move this time around, as he's lying against the table and Falcom isn't in physical contact with him.

This is the first time she has a choice of actually leaving the castle. The Eyelander wouldn't be able to force her back if she left.

Of course, that would mean leaving the sword behind and facing a very pissed Demoman...

"Well…"

* * *

"Nepgear is a polite girl. Very cheerful and eager to help others."

Falcom spoke to Angela, who diligently took in all of the information. She must really be interested in CPUs - were Falcom thoughts.

The adventurer made a compromise. They'll continue walking but Falcom will tell Angela about Nepgear as they walk, much slower than before. They took their time and the Eyelander noticed it.

The area was absolutely unrecognizable. In the span of an hour Angela's servants completely changed the scenery; gone was constant shadow, the thick layers of cobwebs and dust and all other trival damages were fixed. Miracle workers as the Eyelander praised them. Even the blood and bodies were cleaned up!

There were still few monsters that survived. However those were just a minority compared to the initial onslaught, also the presence of undead scared them off. The group could move unhindered.

"I see…" Angela nodded, memorizing another piece of knowledge. Strangely enough, the dark magician was frowning ever since the topic fell on Nepgear. Something that confused the Eyelander. "What about her work, is she as lazy as Lady Neptune?"

"Well... she does Guild requests with her group of friends, and tries to do what she can to defeat the ASIC... but Histoire is still doing the bulk of the work, along with those... _other_ guys."

The dark magician raised her eyebrow and turned her face towards Falcom. The CPU Candidate, who wasn't leaving the Basilicom until the ASIC outbreak and her miraculous rescue 3 years later, suddenly gained a ragtag bunch of misfits to go on an adventure? And the way she emphasized those _other_ guys also sparked her curiosity.

"Can you tell me about her friends?"

"Well, there's me, a Guild agent named IF, a cute nurse Compa, and a group of Mercs that Histoire got to help them defeat the ASIC. They're pretty fun to be around. Oh! We also had a heroine called Nisa but she left, unfortunately."

"You shouldn't have said that."

"The Oracle of Planeptune hired mercenaries?"

The Eyelander and Angela spoke at once, the sword was stern while the dark magician was intrigued. Both reactions sparkled a certain piece of detail that Falcom unconsciously let to slip from her mouth. A mistake she realized too late.

The dark magician saw the silent panic spread on Falcom's face. It was brief, but long enough for her to catch onto it. "And you knew that Histoire hired mercenaries?" Angela repeated, eyes slowly widening in disbelief.

Falcom, not knowing any other way, slowly nodded. "Yes."

The air suddenly grew colder as Angela's petite form shook, at the same time all undead servants bored their gaze onto Falcom, creeping her out even further. Did she pick a wrong choice?

Zeta and an unnamed butler suddenly stepped forward, standing between her and the dark magician while keeping their piercing, unblinking gaze on her, all while Angela grit her teeth. "So you knew about all the killing that happened in the Planeptune? Only the ASIC members died in them, did you participate in those?"

The magician growled in anger, raising her head to give Falcom a hateful glare. Gone was her calm and composed expression, this woman looked _furious_.

Falcom definitely chose wrong.

Feeling threatened, the adventurer's hand lay on her blade. Depending on the circumstances, she could leave this fight unscratched…

But Angela's Black Hole never looked so threatening as just now.

"ANSWER ME!" Angela stomped her foot, making Falcom step back. This motion made her realize that she's truly surrounded. The servants left no opening for her to escape. They also wielded rusted daggers which made the situation even worse.

"I… didn't do anything! What are you doing Angela!?" Shouted Falcom, confused by this sudden turn of events. They were just happily talking a moment ago- Z-Zeta even gave her a massage! And now the maid is pointing her blade at her.

What happened?

The Eyelander also hesitated, there was no room to dodge, his sword is sheathed and they're surrounded. A perfect worst case scenario where if anything happens, big chances Falcom will get injured, or even killed depending on the servants' skills.

Oddly enough the dark magician started to sob, tears melting away her wrathful expression. "Why's my luck always the worst; first my parents die, then my sister and boyfriend. And now the first person I finally got in touch turns out to know about the cause of my suffering. _And did nothing about it._ Why, Lady Magnavox, just why…?"

Angela wiped the snot with her sleeve and continued weeping. "Seriously… c-can I finally be happy for even a moment? What did I do to deserve this?"

The magician wept, now not even bothering to look at the confused Falcom. This entire argument was just confusing to get, she doesn't even know how to proceed. "H-Hey… Angel-!"

"- **AAAAAAAAAAAAAGH**!"

It was sudden. To fast for even the Eyelander to react.

Angela stretched her hand forward and all Falcom saw was an umbral smoke. Then the world disappeared.

She can't see anything.

She can't hear anything.

She can't _feel_ anything.

There was nothing, simply nothing.

Where was the top or the bottom, she had no answer. Her hands and legs simply disappeared, she couldn't even sense them anymore. The weight of the Eyelander was basically nonexistent, so was the weight of her entire body. It was a strange sensation, as if her soul was ripped out of her body. Her sense of time disappeared. Seconds, minutes, even years, it all just blended together into one gigantic mess.

All that remained was just an endless, black void with no way out in sight.

And inside that void, one thought popped in Falcom's mind.

'Is this what the mercs see when they die?'

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Interlude: Corpse Party**

* * *

I'm sorry it took so long. I felt little burned down, school was giving me one test after another and I found new MMO to play. Sorry.

So we finish with another cliffhanger! What do you think? Is Falcom dead? Is she alive? Or maybe something in-between? Why has Angela broke down and attacked Falcom? So many mysteries! And I have just one thing to say to you.

Actions have consequences.

Responses (Seriously guys, reading your reviews is fun and motivating. How am I gonna keep writing when all I have is 1 review to satisfy my addiction?):

BreadNotDead

Well. This side-mini-arc is going to get kinda important later on, especially at the end. And yes Angela is an OC but oddly enough I wasn't thinking about MAGES. at all when creating her. But now that I think about it, I can see the similarity.

What Danganronpa reference?

And yes, the CPU from the past is %&%#$. Surprised?

\- Harmless Orange


	25. Interlude: Dark and Red

_Hey there, readers! I just wanted to say that the rewritten prologue I have been working on has been released. That's why it took me so long to write this chapter, but you now you can go and check out the updated chapter. Please tell me if you like it._

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Interlude: Dark and Red**

* * *

 _I lost track of how much time has passed._

 _Seconds, hours, centuries? It could be anything._

 _Am I dead? Am I alive?_

 _Is this what Hell looks like?_

 _For how long will this go on?_

 _Will I stay like this forever? Where am I? How did I get here?_

 _Anyone? Hello?_

 _I want out, seriously. Let me out!_

 _ **Let me out!**_

Falcom screams, but no sound reached her ears, nor did anything leave her nonexistent throat.

She tried to grip her hair in frustration, but she had no arms to move, nor any hair to grip.

 _Help! Somebody! Anybody! Get me out of here!_

 _PlEaSe!_

 _HeLP!_

 _OuT!_

 _ **IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANT OUUUUUUUUUUUUUT ! ! !**_

 _ **PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAASEEEEEEEEEEEE!**_

 _ **HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!**_

 _ **AAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNYYYYYYYYOOOOOONNNNEEEEE ! ! ! ? ? ?**_

 _ **LEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET MEEEEEEEEEEEEE OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT ! ! !**_

 _ **AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH**_

 _ **AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH**_

* * *

Falcom opened her eyes, finally ending her nightmare. Her eyelids felt heavy, as if made out of solid lead. The light broke away the dark void that surrounded her, and replaced it with the pleasant blue color of the sky.

She was alive...

This was neither heaven nor hell, she was simply in too much pain for her to be anywhere but in good ol' Gamindustri.

It wasn't anything like soreness or fatigue, rather she could feel cuts and bruises all over herself. Legs, arms, face and torso. Her assailants probably weren't aiming at anything in particular, as long it injured her. She didn't even bother to raise her head and check, she instinctively knew that none of them were life-threatening. Her experience told her that.

Strangely enough, she felt no emotions, no fear or anger, or happiness. She felt... neutral, despite the countless wounds caused by the blade, and the cold sweat left by the void.

"So Angela kicked me out of castle." She mumbled to herself. "Why she did that, I dunno…"

The adventurer didn't move an inch, opting to lie on the ground (or was it grass?) and stare at the mildly cloudy sky. The sun seems to be rising, which means that either Falcom was unconscious for only a few hours, or a few days.

The same question repeated inside her mind, which the adventurer naturally began to ponder.

Why did Angela react in such a way? What happened to her that a mere mention of Histoire's mercenaries got her this violent?

Did they kill someone close to her?

The mercs aren't the most harmless people in the world, and most likely never will be. She could take a safe guess that they have harmed (killed) someone close to the Dark Magician during one of their assaults.

But would that be really enough to dedicate oneself entirely just for revenge? Falcom never actually lost anyone, so she can't really understand Angela's pain.

"Finally woken up?"

"Yeah, Duke Eyelander."

Falcom speaks grudgingly, fittingly of a person who just woken up. She finally raised her head and saw the possessed sword safely tucked into its sheath, lying on the grass by her leg.

'So Angela kicked him out too.' Was what Falcom thought once she saw him.

"For the love of- do you remember what happened?"

Growling like an angry animal, the sword sighs and asked the question. Not a shred of concern was heard behind his words, a mere neutral tone people often use when talking to strangers.

Yet again Falcom rests her head on the grass, frowning as she recollects the past events. "Yeah, I kinda do. Angela got mad, for some reason, then her servants surrounded us… and then… I don't remember what happened next."

No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't remember. After that point she was trapped in the nothingness, and there was nothing to remember actually. It was a truly terrifying experience, being devoid of all senses…

She once heard from Spy, that the most effective form of torture is simply stripping a person from their senses. If they can't see, hear and even feel anything, they'll eventually confess everything...

Today Falcom just went through the same thing, All of her senses were shut down. There was no mistaking or sugarcoating it…

It's hell. Period.

No person should ever have to go through that…

She couldn't even feel how long it took, was she there for minutes? Days? Years? It could be anything.

The Eyelander didn't know about Falcom's worries, nor could he see her face. The ghost was completely oblivious to the kind of psychological torture Falcom just experienced. "Angela cast another one of her spells on you, which left you blinded or maybe paralyzed, I dunno. You dropped me pretty much the moment the smoke engulfed you. Then her servants had a field day beating the crap out of you."

Falcom winces a little, finally knowing a reason why her body hurts so much. "That… kinda sounds painful."

"It also looked the part." Agrees the Eyelander. "You should check your phone, someone was ringing the whole time and it started being irritating."

"Huh?" Falcom reached for her pocket, and fished out her surprisingly untouched phone. "Erm… Duke Eyelander? How long was I out?" The adventurer sucked some air through her teeth.

She missed 7 calls from IF, 5 from Histoire, 4 from Nepgear AND 2 from Compa, and also had an 11 unread texts. When. The hell. Did that happen?

"A whole day. You were unconscious for a whole day."

Okay, that explains it.

"Sheesh, they really roughed me up."

"Yes, and you're going to go back in there to stop Angela."

Falcom raises her head again and looks at the sword with perplexed expression. "Uhh… why? Why do we need to stop her?"

She didn't know exactly why, but the adventurer imagined the ghost to be smirking as he stated the reason. "Maybe because Nepgear, and every other CPU, are going to be in danger if we don't?"

Those words hit her like a metaphorical bucket of water, snapping her entire torso upwards (the pain wasn't THAT bad after all) and looking at the sword with eyes wide as dinner plates. "W-What!? What do you mean by that!?

What could also be interpreted as shocking, was the way the Eyelander laughed - chuckled actually. This was literally the first time Falcom ever saw him laughing. Literally! "Hehehehehe. What I mean, is that me and her have much more in common than I initially thought. Get comfortable and listen, this is what happened right after you got wasted."

* * *

The smoke, black as the pupil of an eye, slowly dispersed and revealed the body of Falcom. She was unconscious, bruised and cut all over her body, the servants weren't holding back in their assault, but they didn't want to kill her either.

Standing over her beaten body was Angela, the orb of Black Hole still existing at the edge of her staff.

All she needed to do was wave her staff, and Falcom would die.

A quick, painless death. The very least thing Angela could provide to her enemy's friend.

Just… launch the Black Hole… and finish this.

The undead backed away, watching their contractor's next move with anticipation.

The dark magician grit her teeth, stopping them from chattering. At the same time, her hand holding her weapon quivered.

It's just one motion, that's all.

Her first significant step in achieving her revenge, she can deal a heavy blow to that CPU...

All she needs to do is let Black Hole do it, and her revenge will be in motion.

…

She can't-

She can't do it.

Just- "Go away!" Angela swings her staff and let the dark sphere fly, but it wasn't aimed at Falcom. Rather, the Black Hole hit the wall far ahead in the hallway. The spell exploded and broke a part of the wall, at the same time the darkness returned where it was stolen from, but the recently-placed torches ensured that the hallway remained illuminated.

Angela fell to her knees and let her tears run freely.

She can't kill her.

It's just impossible for her to kill another person.

Why? Why can't she just do it!?

"Aren't you looking just pathetic?"

A voice, very amused and familiar one at that, began to taunt her. "The Eyelander?" Angela turned her head towards the sword, who seems to take amusement in her torment.

"For a moment there I thought that both of us were done for, but then you spare the woman and collapse crying. So what did you mean by that?"

The dark magician grew confused and raised her brow. "By what?"

"'The whole cause of your suffering'." The ghost quoted. "What was that about?"

The undead servants looked at each other, shrugging one by one and deciding that idleness was the best course of action. Meanwhile Angela heavily pondered if she should tell him or not… It's not like this spirit actually cared about her mental state or the traumas she went through. In fact, she wouldn't be surprised if her torment amused him.

But on the other side… he's a few hundred- or maybe even thousand years old. He's much wiser than she is.

"Do you know how it feels to have your whole life crumbling down all at once? Literally your whole life."

The dark magician wiped her tears away and moved herself closer to the possessed sword, crossing her legs to sit more comfortably. She felt very confused right now and, while the chance for it to work was small, an audience with someone much older and more experienced may be something that she really needed…

Of course, Angela just attacked his vessel and almost murdered her. There's a chance he may deny giving her any advice.

"I do, in fact."

But he didn't, instead he gave her a heartful answer. "Believe it or not, but I met my demise by being betrayed by my own men. The men that I vowed to protect and lead to the Golden Age. In a single moment my entire life crumbled into pieces for their own gain."

"And what happened to those men?"

"I decapitated each and every single one as my body slowly shut down from poison."

The dark magician stared awkwardly at the battered claymore. He just could not sound more innocent and cheerful when he just confessed to committing mass murder in mortal vengeance. Then again, all malevolent spirits either had some tragic past or did some unspeakable things. Things like murderers or slavery were common in the early ages.

She can't understand how some people can kill others so easily… Her legs almost gave way by just attempting to murder the adventurer.

"W-Well… I'm in kind of a similar situation, without being poisoned though."

"Oh?"

'...Could you _not_ sound like a child interested in hearing a bedtime story?' Were Angela's thoughts.

"Y-yeah… I had pretty simple life until then. I was practicing magic back at home in Lastation, my older sister was a recruit in the army, and my parents were an adventurers. They often shared their stories with us, or trained my older sister in swordsmanship. B-But then-"

"-Then they died, didn't they?" The Eyelander cuts in, sounding incredibly interested in hearing her tragic story, even though Angela's voice was on the verge of breaking.

"Y-Yeah." Nods the dark magician. "M-Mom and dad went to do some Guild quests and got themselves killed, a-and all me and my sister got was this stupid, cookie-cutter apology! No help or justice! Just this stupid apology!"

She punched the floor, doing no damage to the marble or her knuckles, but she does that again and again in anger. The Eyelander watched her cry without her realizing with sickened interest.

"Go on."

"We were heartbroken, I didn't know what to do, my sister didn't know what to do." She realized that her tears again leaked, and stopped them. "She eventually took me to Planeptune, where we tried to sort our lives but-"

"-She died as well, is that right?" Finished the ghost, almost as if he knew the story.

"Thanks to those damn warehouses!" Roared Angela, confirming Eyelander's words. "She was just resting at home after a hard day of work, when suddenly a piece of wall struck our building. I came back from school to find my home burnt down and my sister in hospital. She d-didn't make it."

For the 3rd or 4th time (the Eyelander didn't bother to count), Angela broke down crying. The poor woman won't last much longer, but the Eyelander won't let her rest just yet. "And your boyfriend? He died too, yes?"

Angela shot him a glare. "You just want me to spill everything so you can laugh at my suffering, right?" She vengefully accused. Days of her suffering, of the loneliness she experienced after everyone close to her died, her entire reason to just keep living. He expects her to just spill it entirely so he can laugh at it?

The magician's anger renewed, finding a new target to unleash it all. At the same time, the sword chuckled right in her face. It was a cheery, mocking laugh that sent Angela's blood boiling. "What else did you expect? I'm a malevolent spirit after all. Your suffering is my amusement."

"Why did I even talk to you? What did I hope to accomplish?"

Angela huffed and turned her back towards him. But Eyelander's next words took her a little by surprise. "You wanted to hear my advice or an opinion on what you should do, am I wrong? Actually I must say that I'm shocked. It seems that there are a few things we have in common."

The brunette turned her head back towards the sword, completely puzzled by his confession. "What?"

"You and I were both betrayed by those we trusted, me by my servants - and you by your government. You DID put at least some faith in those… CPUs, before this happened, right?"

Angela stopped to think for a moment while the Eyelander continued.

"I sought revenge by killing my soon-to-be murderers, while you're still seeking revenge at the government who refused to help you during those hard times, and their work indirectly killed your sister as well."

"Where are you going with this!?" The Eyelander fell silent as Angela impatiently demanded. He was annoyed when she rudely cut in, if she wanted to hear his opinion she shouldn't interrupt him when he's talking.

"I am going to say this only once, Angela, the Dark Magician. Listen carefully."

…

…

…

…

…

" _I am rooting for you, but I will also stop you"_

"Eh?"

Angela wasn't prepared for these words, staring down at the sword in surprise for some explanation.

He's rooting for her? And he'll stop her as well?

So he wants her to succeed? But also for her to… not succeed?

"I'm interested in how far you'll go, as you're walking on a similar path as me. However, my current owner is employed by the one you want to kill. Because of that, we shall meet next as foes."

"So, you want to see me succeed and kill the CPUs. But because of your owner, you're forced to stand against me."

"That's what I just said, yes. As my gift to you, I'll tell you something about the Gehaburn."

Her anger dispersed once more, just like when she tried to kill Falcom. Angela patiently listened to Eyelander's next words.

"The Gehaburn is awake, and she has already denied your wish."

* * *

"The Gehaburn denied her wish? Why?"

Until this very moment, Falcom was listening quietly and chewed on some Healing Grass, which the adventurer was conveniently lying on. It wasn't much, but it helped by numbing the pain a little and making the wounds heal quicker.

The entire grass around her was actually the healing herb just growing freely, mostly untouched by the civilization. That's both convenient and amazing.

Anyway, this was what confused Falcom. Why has the Gehaburn denied Angela's wish? Don't they share the same goal?

"Because The Gehaburn judged her as unworthy. When Angela spared you, a friend of a CPU, she has shown that she's unfit of becoming her vessel. A vessel of a sword possessed by a spirit who hates the goddesses."

"So… we don't need to fear anything? If she can't wield it, Nepgear and the others are safe, right?"

Falcom shrugged as she said this. That was at least how she understood this whole thing. If the spirit possessing the sword doesn't want to be wielded, then they're all good. The bad guys (just one woman) can't use it.

And the Eyelander agreed with that, only part of it though.

"For some time, yes. I don't think the Gehaburn will allow Angela to get close to her, but that won't fix the problem."

Spitting out the green pulp, Falcom's eyebrows burrowed. "It won't fix it? Why?"

"Just because the Gehaburn rejected Angela, it doesn't actually mean anything. Angela can simply force her way in and, with enough determination, take control of the Gehaburn and wield it. She's used to dealing with ghosts after all."

"Uhhh…" You lost me, was what Falcom tried to say. She doesn't understand how that would work. Forcing yourself onto a spirit and controlling it? Isn't this supposed to be in reverse? "I'm confused." The redhead scratches her head.

The sword sighs, and Falcom suddenly felt a cold, hostile presence behind her, like there was a mass murderer behind her and she could instinctively pick up on that.

"Let me say it like this. When I take a control of your limbs, you try to resist it, it's an involuntary movement. In your case, it doesn't do much, because you're inexperienced compared to me, but you're still trying and it manages to slow me down. But if Angela were to hold me, I wouldn't be able to do much without her consent, because she's already knowledgeable about darkness, spirits, and other things of the occult. She'll just know how to resist possession more effectively than you."

So, all of that comes down to experience with spirits, which Falcom obviously lacks.

"So, what would the Gehaburn do if I were to… umm… wield her?"

She shyly asked that, but Falcom feels like this was a good question. What would happen if she were to grab the sword? Would that be even safe for her? Will she fall into a whirlpool of delusions if the adventurer were to touch it? She needs every bit of intel she can get her hands on.

The ghost paused, thinking about a good answer for her question. It took quite a while, Falcom grew even unnerved after 10 seconds of total silence has passed.

"Um, Duke Eye-?"

"-Shut up." The former monarch snapped at Falcom. "If you were to attempt to take the blade, the Gehaburn would replace your soul with her own. She would seal your consciousness deep inside you as she uses your own body to carry out her revenge."

Falcom started at the Eyelander, who calmly delivered those worrisome words to her, with shock. Her two eyes, harmlessly orange colored, widened and bore imaginary holes into the rusted claymore.

By just holding the Gehaburn she can completely lose control of her body?

"At least that's what I think would happen. So yeah, don't touch it." The Eyelander casually added.

"...D-Duly noted."

Then the ghosts are possessing humans? Or the humans are the ones who possess ghosts? This conversation got confusing and very alarming, at least for Falcom.

"S-So." The adventurer began. The possibility of losing her body left her a little shaken. "Are the spirits possessing humans, or humans are possessing spirits? I got a little confused here, sorry."

She was kind of afraid of what could happen if she pushes the Eyelander too far. And just like she predicted she felt her left hand rising, it wasn't her who controlled the limb, and with that possessed limb Falcom was forced to slap herself in the face. "Ow! Hey!"

"The _ghosts_ are the ones possessing humans, not vice versa. However certain individuals, like Angela for example, can resist the possession and in turn wield the possessed object without problem. You understand that now!?"

"Ohhh, yeah yeah. Thanks."

Falcom nodded while rubbing her cheek, he didn't need to put _that_ much strength into that.

So the humans can't take control of the dead spirits, but the spirits can take control of _them,_ with an exception of certain individuals because of their spiritual knowledge. She finally understood it completely (and now she kicked herself for getting it so late, it was simple in hindsight.)

Can a spirit and human coexist together in a single body? There are those undead butlers and maids who are under contract with Angela, and there's her and the Eyelander. But both of those are spirits and mortals living separately…

"Is it possible for 2 souls to live inside the same body?"

This was just her curiosity asking things now. She never thought she'll find interest in some paranormal stuff, but after seeing what she could do with the Eyelander's help, the speed she achieved, the toughness, this 'sixth sense' that he granted her...

Would it be possible, to make those things permanent by putting 2 spirits into the same body?

"...In theory, yes, it would be possible. But that's impractical."

"Why?"

"Because the mind and the body can't be controlled by more than 1 soul at the same time. There would be a lot of confusion. You could bypass that by making 1 soul control the arms while the other controls the legs, but you're basically telling 2 humans to cooperate. Conflicts will surely arise. The best possible way for 2 souls, or even more, is to take turns and let only 1 soul take the control of everything for a given period of time. You're with me, so far?"

"Yes. I see…"

So combining souls would only spell trouble. But then how did she achieve all of those inhuman feats? She doesn't have any bionic enhancements like Nepgear, nor could she actually do anything like that with her own skills, SP and even the EXE-Drive.

Honestly, who thought of this? Why does the Eyelander even know about this?

Will she learn all about the spirit world once she dies?

"Great, now get up. We have wasted enough time chatting, it's time to save your friend from the Dark Magician."

"W-Wait!" Yelled Falcom. "If 2 souls inside a single body is so impractical? Then how am I so powerful when wielding you? Is it something else?"

"Yes. But I'll explain as we walk, we have wasted enough time already. Get up."

The adventurer stands up as told, and kicks the sword up into the air to catch it. She took a moment to examine the damage on the blade. The edge was blunt and even chipped in a few places, it was stained by dried blood, but it still served her, and Demoman, well. "You're pretty determined to stop her." Said Falcom.

"And _you_ don't want to stop her from killing your friend?"

"...I do, but I don't want to kill Angela either."

She truthfully doesn't want to. Yes, partially because she's afraid of killing an another human being, there's no denying that. But she liked that shy, kinda-chunni, girl. It's a shame she was through so much.

But on the other hand, she can't let her kill Nepgear either. Also, kinda because that would be killing a ruler of Planeptune. But she has grown to liking Nepgear, she's a cheerful and friendly girl who's also very determined to save the CPUs and Gamindustri at large.

Maybe if they talk it out, they could settle things without fighting?

"If that's what you want, then it must be you and only you. Don't call for help and ignore the phone if it rings." Suggested Eyelander.

"Is it because of the mercs?"

If she had called anyone, then the worried Histoire would surely send someone, even if Falcom would be against it. And that someone would be a band of bloodthirsty mercenaries who would spell doom for her plan of peaceful resolution. Especially once they hear about what Angela is planning.

"Bravo, you can actually understand something on your own."

Falcom would not dignify this insult with a response. The Eyelander has insulted her to get a reaction, so she'll give him nothing. Instead she'll change the topic.

"Is the main gate open?"

"I'm not sure, go ahead and try it."

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Interlude: Dark and Red**

* * *

And so Angela's motive, and the consequences of Mercenaries' actions have been revealed. Who would have thought that one small group can screw up a person's life, without even realizing, so badly?

Yes, everything that happened to Angela, even her parent's death, was caused by most of the actions that Mercenaries has took in Prologue and Arc 1. The only reason why Falcom isn't dead yet is because of Angela's own weakness, she's emotionally too weak to kill a person.

You know. Murdering someone isn't an easy choice.

However everything may change once she gets her hands on the Gehaburn, who may or may not take control of her body. Good thing Falcom is there to try to stop the Dark Magician from unleashing the conquest ending.

Or is it?

Maybe the conquest ending IS the way to go?

...Nah, I already told you I'm not going conquest.

 **That doesn't mean I can't pick even worse ending.**

Responses:

FourElemental:

I also don't know why you're writing this. Pies are obviously delicious, even the burnt ones!

\- Harmless Orange


	26. Interlude: Conflict Against The Wicked

**Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Interlude: Conflict Against The Wicked**

* * *

The main gate… was actually open, which is rather surprising. If it was Falcom who wanted someone to stay away from her, the first thing she would do would be to lock the doors, but for some reason Angela failed to do that.

Weird.

Maybe... it's a trap?

It felt too convenient to the adventurer, so Falcom hesitated before going through. In fact, the Eyelander got impatient because of how much time she wasted debating whether or not this path was safe.

"Stop staring at the gate like some fish and just go in already. I'm not sensing anything, so the path should be safe." The Eyelander said.

Interestingly enough, the Wraith of the battering ram disappeared. Yes, it scared Falcom when it appeared, there's no denying that, but now she kinda missed it.

Maybe she can't see the Wraiths anymore? But isn't this spell supposed to have an area-of-effect?

No matter what was the reason, Falcom passed through the gates and entered the castle's grounds, surprisingly without any complications.

* * *

"Yup, confirmed. Fucked. Up. Everything. Great job, you stupid moron for not seeing this."

The Observer released an agitated sigh and threw a rather thick book onto a table that was in front of him. Strangely, the chapter he finished reading was titled "Angela Noisiv Vitca", and the context was nothing more that an abundance of information about the Dark Magician.

As he skimmed through her backstory, he felt guilt rising within him. For her to go through such a tragedy, and he was oblivious to it until it became a problem…

The Observer wasn't in the white void anymore, but rather in a library, surrounded by hundreds or even thousands of books filled with knowledge, from ancient history to skill techniques to simple cooking recipes.

But this was no ordinary library.

"How the hell has it even affected her so early? The Butterfly Effect shouldn't affect other nations so soon." He said, burying his face in his hands. "Ugh… hopefully Magnavox won't be so mad about it."

"I see you're in a bit of a pickle. Would you like to hear some advice?"

"Yeah, please Histoire."

He turned his head towards the fairy and flashed her a grin.

This Histoire isn't the Oracle of Planeptune that the mercenaries know, but she's still Histoire the Sentient Tome Fairy. She was much younger and cuter than the Oracle, looking almost like a cute doll.

She had her hair shorter, and wore a light-purple gown with sleeves that are too big for her. The observer would really mistake her for a doll if she wasn't actually alive.

"First, here is the copy of a book that you wanted to take." The fairy placed a rather thin book next to the much thicker one. "Judging by its content, I assume this is for IF from the dimension you're in charge of, yes?"

"Yes." The observer nodded and grabbed the thin book. It had a nice, red cover with a gold flame in the middle. "This is going to be my little congratulatory gift for them, for saving Blanc. I still need some ideas for Compa and Falcom though."

"I see. And I must ask, don't you think you're changing the events too much?"

"Pardon?"

Histoire cleared her throat while the male stared at her with a frown on his face. "The problem you're facing is a product of your excessive meddling with the events. And while this could be possibly fixed by messing with the timeline even more, there's a certain risk that this will make things even worse later on."

"Yes, I know about the danger. You and Magnavox already warned me about the Butterfly Effect."

The Butterfly Effect. A phenomenon in which even the smallest change in the original timeline will result in much greater changes given enough time. Something stupid like tripping on a cable and spilling a drink on a machine could potentially result in a nation-wide genocide when given enough time.

Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

"Yes, we did." Histoire nodded, recalling the countless lessons about time travel, and the time itself that were led by her. "And we also taught you that the simplest solution is often the best one. I advise you to simply stay put this time, and let the timeline fix itself."

"You're asking me to just watch while my dimension, and my work, are on the verge of going Conquest-route!?" The observer countered.

"The Conquest can be achieved only by Nepgear, only if she meets certain requirements, and only when Arfoire is close to being resurrected." Argued the fairy, dropping her cute little smile. "Because there is still a lot of time before the ASIC finishes their goal, I'm confident to say that Angela has absolutely no chances of acquiring the cursed sword. So long as the changes aren't too significant."

Her calm words cut apart his argument which gave him a bit of ease, but the line 'changes aren't too significant' bothered him. "So long as the changes aren't significant, huh?" He parroted.

There's no way in hell these changes 'aren't significant'. Not at all...

This is troublesome, actually.

"I think the changes are already too big, Histoire." The observer pointed out.

"This just reinforces my argument." Histoire sighed and rubbed her temple, trying to fight off a rising headache. "Just wait and see what happens, act only when necessary."

"I'll give it some thought, but I won't promise anything. Thanks though, Histoire. For the advice and the skill book." The observer stood up and stretched, he's been sitting there for quite a long time. "When you see Segami and IF, tell 'em I said 'hi'."

"I will. Do your best."

He left the library with Histoire giving him a warm smile. It was already evening in their time, and the sky was clear. It would be a good time to take a pleasant stroll, but he had no motivation to do so, and the work was calling for him.

He raised his hand towards the heavens, and shouted with clear voice.

"To Celestia I ascend!"

The calm evening was interrupted by an odd phenomenon, despite the cloudless sky a thunder could be heard and seen near the library. It disappeared as suddenly as it appeared, and the Observer vanished along with it.

* * *

The doors to the castle were open as well, almost like Angela actually wanted Falcom to come back.

Falcom grew really suspicious this time around and had to ask. "Are you really sure this isn't a trap?" She kept her hand on the sword and alert for anything. But so far, her eyes saw nothing.

"..." The Eyelander didn't answer Falcom, which unnerved her. A moment of eerie silence has passed, then another, and another but he still stayed silent. "...Duke Eyelander?" Falcom looked down at the battered claymore, afraid that something truly was wrong.

Finally, he spoke.

"...They really hid themselves well."

And a bunch of arms erupted from the ground, before Angela's undead domestic force arose from the depths of the earth. Like always, their clothes were in pristine condition, and in their hands were their rusted blades that Falcom remembered from before. They were short and damaged, but the adventurer knows to not underestimate the weapons of an undead. They could be perfectly sharp for all she knows.

Falcom unsheathed the Eyelander and waited for their move, but none of them attacked. Instead, they threw their hands towards the stairs, like they wanted to present something.

And that something turned out to be Angela herself, slowly descending with her purple eyes zeroed on the adventurer. There was a mix of emotions behind them, disappointment, acceptance and… anger.

"So you have come. Of course you would, but why? Why would you do that?" The Dark Magician asks as she reinforced her gaze onto the redhead. For some reason her eyes seemed to be literally glowing with the dark crimson, Falcom didn't know if it was some sort of spell or something else...

Even so, it was her turn. "Angela, please!" She pleaded. "Don't do this! Why can't you give Nepgear a chance!? Just one!"

Angela scoffed and turned her head to the side. "I already _gave_ her a chance and look what happened." She spat out, motioning to the sword in Falcom's hands. "Eyelander already informed you, didn't he? My sister died because of that fight between her and the CFW. My boyfriend was murdered in one of those assaults that she's orchestrating. I thought I could move on and forget about my parents' demise, but all I got was even more despair! From the CPU Candidate, no less!"

The Dark Magician faced the adventurer once more and Falcom was certain this time. Her eyes were really changed. They were filled with hatred, vengeance, loathing, she truly hated the CPUs.

Falcom knew that persuading her would be hard, but this was above her expectations. Just the sight of her was enough to make Angela's blood boil, and there wasn't anything that Falcom could use to calm her down. There just wasn't anything for her to go on.

"So just because they didn't help you, y-you want to become a murderer just because of that!?"

The adventurer couldn't even understand Angela's pain. Even as an adventurer, Falcom had lived a relatively peaceful and simple life. Death of others around her just wasn't something that she was familiar with.

"Yes, I do want that!" Angela shouted, after days of suppressing her anger she can finally let it all out on the other woman that was in this room. "Have _you_ ever lost somebody dear to you? Just one person is painful enough! And when you lose all of them in just a few days, right in front of your eyes? People commit suicide for less!"

Falcom could only gulp and wait for any opening. This battle of words just isn't her style, she's horribly underprepared for this situation…

While Falcom pondered how she could disarm the ticking bomb that was the Dark Magician, the girl in question continued her shouting tirade. "The CPUs and their Oracles don't care about people they lead, I saw it with my own eyes in Lastation, and here in Planeptune. None of them gave a slight damn about me when my life was falling apart!"

"There are millions and even billions of people in each nation! Just because the Goddesses didn't help you, it doesn't mean they don't care-!"

"Have you ever walked off the main streets of Planeptune!?" Cut off by Angela, the redhead stayed silent as she realized the mistake she just made. She shouldn't have said that, she just made things even worse.

The Dark Magician voice was mocking, but still held her angry, venomous tone in it. "Do you know how many people are getting scammed right as we speak? Do you know how many innocent people are getting arrested and locked away, just because they were cheated by those pirates? _Do you know_ how many people lost their families, their homes and lives, just because the Oracle and the CPU thought that they can just murder the ASIC out of her nation!? Everyone in the whole Gamindustri has realized that goddamn Nepgear has ordered those attacks! She kills her civilians just for siding with the ASIC! How can you still be her friend!?"

"That wasn't Nepgear! That was Histoire-!"

Falcom stopped herself but it was too late, the damage has been done. She shouted it out without thinking and now she has ruined everything. She has done it, she screwed it up.

"See! You knew!" Feeling victorious, Angela jabbed her finger at shocked Falcom. "You know all about it! You're one of Nepgear's friends aren't you, _of_ _course_ you would know. And you just confessed that they did it."

"N-No… w-wait!"

There's nothing she could do now, Angela won't back down and all Falcom did was just give grounds for Angela's ideas.

"There's no waiting here, Falcom." Angela shook her head. "But you're a decent person, so I'll give you a choice. You can either drop the Eyelander and leave, never to cross my path again. Or you can try and kill me. Either way, one of us has to go. Choose."

To run away and let Nepgear get killed…

Or to fight and stop Angela…

No matter the choice, there's going to be bloodshed. Angela won't be talked down, Falcom can either give up or try to stop Angela by force…

She sighs.

"I really didn't wish for this to happen." The adventurer said as she readjusted her grip. She failed to do it peacefully, but maybe Angela will listen if she beats her up."

The Dark Magician closed her eyes and made a small nod. "Me neither, but it has to be done."

* * *

Fighting 25 to 1 is hard.

But when those 25s are a horde of zombies that are surprisingly skilled and clever, backed up by a strong and crafty magician? That's even harder, even with Eyelander's help.

With a single swing, Falcom parried strikes coming from _4_ butlers, metal met metal and the Adventurer grit her teeth as she was forced to match the strength of several undead men. While she was distracted, a maid tried to stab her but Falcom avoided the blow with a quick side step.

They didn't give her a chance to recover, as a butler charged from Falcom's left, but the adventurer swung her sword and crossed blades with him. She kneed him in the stomach and swiftly decapitated, making his headless body and weapon crumble into dust.

1 down, 24 to go.

Falcom took a deep breath, and saw several dark blue projectiles coming her way. They moved in an erratic, unpredictable way but the Eyelander had a plan. He guided Falcom to hide behind a maid and use her as a meatshield; Angela clicked her tongue when all of her bolts hit the zombie instead their designated target.

2 down, 23 to go.

Angela's mistake shocked the undead, and they all stopped to stare in shock at the fallen maid. Falcom took advantage of this opening and charged straight at Angela. Before the staff realized what happened, Falcom was already at the stairs thanks to her superior movement speed.

The Dark Magician narrowed her eyes while the redhead moved in for a decapitation.

Or at least, that's what she thought.

"Nice try, but that is not going to work."

The Eyelander was blocked by a transparent barrier that surrounded Angela, and Falcom's orange eyes widened when she realized that she was suspended mid-air, and she couldn't move too...

"A magician never engages in a direct fight without some sort of protection." Angela smugly explained and raised her staff, holding it with both hands like a baseball bat.

" _Begone, thot!"_

Shouting, The Dark Magician swung her staff at Falcom with all her might, putting her entire body into it. The force felt unnatural, too strong for someone of her small frame to achieve, and yet Falcom was blown back into the horde of zombies.

Angela didn't see Falcom falling because something else took her attention. It was the sound of a cheering crowd. But from where did it come from? It wasn't her Familiars' doing, but there wasn't anyone else nearby…

Weird…

 _Meanwhile, back in Planeptune, Scout felt goosebumps all of a sudden. It was this familiar sensation which left the young merc staring into a certain direction. Yet again he felt a disturbance in the force, like someone just did something baseball-related without him knowing._

Butlers and maids scattered in fright, not wanting to be crushed under the falling woman. Falcom fell onto the hard floor… actually unharmed... but she still sucked some air through her teeth.

Then the staff charged once more, not giving her even a moment of break.

They surrounded their prey and tried to overwhelm her, but a cornered fox is more dangerous than a jackal, and they had to fall back after Falcom cut down 3 of them with her swift, precise strikes. More of them would go down as well, if they weren't fast enough to block or dodge.

Still, 5 down and 20 to go.

Slowly, but surely, the scales were turning towards Falcom.

Then the butler that died first, reappeared, which made the odds fall back onto Angela side.

"You can't be serious!" The Eyelander cried out while Falcom backed off to dodge incoming blades. "They can respawn!?"

"Their bodies aren't of flesh and bones after all." Explained Angela, resurrecting another dead member of her staff. "Death for them is just a temporary thing."

Falcom made a small growl out of anger, and used her opponents' mistake to kill 5 of them at once. She tried to do it again, but the rest of the group just backed off. At least it gave her some breathing space.

* * *

The fight quickly evolved into a battle of attrition, where a winner was uncertain.

Falcom fought alone and was surrounded at all times, but her superior skills and the Eyelander's help made it easy for Falcom to stand her ground. However each undead that she killed kept respawning after a few seconds, and Angela was an untouchable enemy that Falcom couldn't attack no matter what she does.

"Alright, this is getting tiresome." The Eyelander commented, decapitating a suicidal maid that tried to jump on Falcom. "Woman, follow my lead. It's time for Plan B."

"We have a Plan B!?" Falcom yelped and ducked underneath a sword that tried to make her a head shorter. She didn't hear anything about any Plan B.

"I have it, but I need you to trust me."

"Alright, got it!"

The short exchange had an immediate effect. Falcom changed her stance and stopped staying on the defensive. She charged at the group directly between her and Angela and pressed them on with a flurry of strikes, clangs of metal were loud and often as the adventurer attacked hard on several people at once, while also keeping her back covered from any cheeky zombie that tried to stab her in the back.

It was no surprise to anyone that the undead group was quickly dispersed, either by getting themselves killed or simply pushed back, but Falcom wasn't interested in fighting them anymore. With the path between herself and Angela cleared once more, the adventurer charged towards the stairs, while also parrying a swing from the desperate maid that was really more of a last ditch effort than anything else.

Angela frowned and released the same black cloud that she used to incapacitate Falcom before, but the adventurer simply jumped over it and landed right in front of the magician. The girl tensed and prepared herself to whack Falcom back into the horde…

But Falcom ignored her completly and ran around her, climbing to the second floor.

Her maneuver caught the Magician off guard, and for a moment Angela thought that Falcom would suddenly jump back down and attempt to cut her down… but her steps grew quieter with each second…

She had fled deeper into the castle…

But for what reason?

* * *

Sprinting across the hallway, Falcom encountered numerous Wraiths that inhabited the relatively empty building. She didn't stop to listen to any of them but, strangely enough, just their presence alone soothed the adventurer's nerves.

At least, as much as they could be soothed while Falcom was running for her life.

"T-This is your plan?" The adventurer asked, running through two guards that were chatting in the middle of the corridor.

"A part of it, but we need to discuss the rest first. Turn right when you can and catch a breather."

The adventurer gave him a nod and focused on her breathing, in and out, in and out…

She didn't notice it while she was fighting, but it was harder to move her legs and arms. She didn't feel anything like pain, but her limbs could be a few kilograms heavier… "I feel… heavy." Falcom said, feeling confused by this. She looked at her left hand and tried to ball it into a fist, and she managed to do so, but she had problems keeping it up…

"That's because you're tired, Woman." The Eyelander said flatly as Falcom turned the corner. "Okay, that's enough. Now rest a little and listen to me."

Falcom didn't actually feel tired at all, but her entire body felt like it was made out of lead. Nonetheless the adventurer leaned against the wall and asked. "Where's Angela?"

"She and her little zombie horde are following you, they'll soon catch up so I'll make this short." The sword paused for a moment, either to think of how he should say this or just for dramatic effect.

Then he instructed her to...

"...Close your eyes, clear your mind and just relax. That's all."

…

…

…

…

...

"Huh?"

Completely uncharacteristically, Falcom deadpanned and gave the Eyelander a flat look. "Haaauuuh?" She repeated, staring expectantly at the sword.

"Just do it, there's no time. Angela will catch up soon." He hurried her, but Falcom saw right through him.

"Your Plan B is taking full control of my body, right?"

"Yes."

There was no point in denying it, all he wanted was to take a full control of her body. But he had a good reason to do so. "Think of your choices here. You can either continue this little tirade and try fighting Angela by yourself, but remember that your body has its limits and you're reaching them."

"Or let you take the helm, and let you use your power to the fullest, is that right?" Falcom finished for him. She remembered how he said that he's holding her back and that she's a poor vessel for him. But if he could unleash his full power by taking full control over her...

Call this a Woman's Intuition or just experience, but she knows how this will end…

"Correct. I can save your life, but only if you let me possess you. Just close your eyes and relax, or continue fighting and eventually die. Your call."

Yet another choice. How many of them has she faced today…

"HAAAAAAAAALT!"

Angela interrupted Falcom's train of thought, and the adventurer turned her head towards the Dark Magician. Her entire posture was different from moments ago, where all Angela wanted was to see Falcom dead. She isn't angry anymore.

She is _afraid_.

"Falcom, no matter what you do, DON'T listen to Eyelander! Don't do this, let's just talk it out."

The Eyelander chuckled, amused by this turn of events. "It's funny how quickly you changed your tune." He offhandedly commented. "Moments ago you wanted this woman either dead or gone, but now you're _so eager_ to be diplomatic. What changed your mind?" He mocked her, and all Angela could do was to suck it up. The tables had turned now and Falcom had the better hand here.

"Falcom, listen to me. You will throw away your soul if you listen to him. Please, reconsider."

"She will lose her soul AND her life if she doesn't." Countered the Eyelander. It always amused him whenever the arrogant begged when the tides have turned. He cannot get enough of this. Angela just got her just desserts.

But Falcom thought deeply about something that bothered her… The colors of Angela's eyes has changed, they're back to purple.

Was this just the light?

But ignoring her eyes for now, Falcom couldn't talk Angela down the first time she tried, because she had nothing to go on…

But this time, she has an excellent bargaining chip to use.

"Angela, I'm going to do what you say and not let the Eyelander take control of me-"

"Really?" Deadpanned the Eyelander.

"-But only if you surrender, and stop your whole revenge plot!"

Every bit of hope that Angela felt right now was shattered, while the Eyelander laughed hysterically. "Ahahahahahahaha! Good one there, woman!" The ghost applauded his temporary partner for getting this idea.

"I-I w-well..." Angela was panicking, just like Falcom did when she tried to talk her down. The entire thing had turned by 180 degrees, where Angela was the one who had no cards to play. She pushed Falcom too much and forced her to use her trump card…

And her experience with ghosts tells her that it won't be pretty if Falcom was to use it.

"Angela, _please_." The adventurer begged. "Stop with this revenge nonsense and let's be friends, you, me and Nepgear. _All of us_."

To show that the redhead bears no ill will towards her, Falcom extends her hand. Which was the worst possible scenario for Angela. Now it was either throwing her entire past life, and goal away for a chance of redemption. Or continue clinging to her past, and avenge her fallen loved ones...

A major step in her life no matter how she cuts it.

The Dark Magician turned towards her Familiar for support, and sighed after a brief moment.

"I'm sorry, Falcom."

Whether it was determination to get revenge, or just fear of change, not even Angela knew.

But at least Falcom understood this, and dropped her hand. "Not much of a choice then." She sighed and looked down at the sword in her hand. "I hope you will at least go easy on her, Duke Eyelander."

"Please… this'll be a breeze." He bragged as Falcom closed her eyes.

"Good." She could hear the Eyelander saying. "Just relax, clear your mind and leave everything else to me."

A moment later, something clicked and she couldn't move her legs or arms. It was a strange sensation, she knew that she still had her limbs and where they were, but she couldn't move them at all, Falcom couldn't even try moving them. Her body was simply ignoring her commands.

Falcom panicked and tried to open her eyes, but the darkness still remained. Like someone blindfolded her.

"Stay calm, stay calm. Everything is going smoothly." The Eyelander said, but his voice wasn't coming from the sword anymore.

It was coming from within her.

She was in the same predicament as after Angela casted that smoke spell on her.

But this time, it was much more pleasant.

A pleasing warm surrounded her, lulling her to sleep, like a blanket in a cold night. Falcom's soul was growing tired, but she felt at peace, knowing that she wasn't alone in this body.

As she went to sleep, a demonic voice laughed.

 _"Aha- AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"_

* * *

 _"Aha- AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"_

A creepy and eerie laughter pierced the silent air, sending chills through the spines of listeners.

This… isn't Falcom anymore.

"You're a fool, Falcom…" Angela whispered, staring nervously at the person in front of her. Her undead staff grew worried as well. They weren't fighting Falcom helped by a ghost anymore. They're fighting a Possessed Falcom.

Possessed by an ancient, malevolent spirit to boot...

Despite keeping her voice low, 'Falcom' still heard Angela and turned 'her' face towards her. 'Her' eyes were closed, but they burned with the cursed green flames.

And 'her' lips morphed into a smug, wicked grin. "A fool?" Possessed Falcom repeated, hers voice fused with Eyelander's resulting in one dreadful combination. "This woman has made the right choice!"

'She' examined her left hand, observing Falcom's muscles. "I have to take back what I said about her earlier. I said that she's a poor vessel, but when you do take full control over her, her body can surprisingly strong." 'She' cheerfully noted.

"I guess it's too late to bring Falcom back." Angela sighed.

"Actually the Woman is still there. Taking a pleasant nap." Retorted the ghost. Flicking 'her' finger, Possessed Falcom chanted a spell. " _Barpo kabalto"_ And a surge of life coursed through 'her' veins, revitalizing and momentarily Übercharging the body.

The spell that was used confused the Magician. "I never seen this kind of magic before, what did it do?" None of her books had anything about spells like that one. Is this an ancient type of magic? No, it couldn't be. It's different.

Possessed Falcom checked 'her' nails as she explained. "Impressed? I guess it's understandable you don't know, this is a magic from a whole different world you don't know about. It's an Über Heal, I think it's name is pretty self-explanatory. It couldn't save me from death though."

"No amount of those new spells will save you." Angela growled, she isn't standing against Falcom anymore. This is just an abomination to defeat, a monster waiting to be defeated. "You hear me! I'm bringing you down!"

"Yes. Yes! Yeees!" Exclaimed Possessed Falcom. "I was waiting for this moment. Do you have what it takes to carry out your revenge? Or will you fall before it even begins? And just so you know, I'm not going to hold anything back."

"Neither will I!" The Dark Magician grit her teeth and prepared her spells, while her undead army took the front and protected her.

This isn't going to be an easy fight… But now it's truly a kill or be killed moment.

Seeing butlers and maids surround 'her', Possessed Falcom chuckled and raised 'her' brow at the Dark Magician. "Headdds…" 'She' muttered and went into 'hers' combat stance.

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Interlude: Conflict Against The Wicked**

* * *

Are you guys getting bored with this side-arc? If so, then I can tell you that we have like… 3-5 chapters left to write. There's going to be this Possessed Falcom (Eyelander) vs Angela fight, the Gehaburn itself and the official introduction of the Observator. Afterwards the Lowee Arc can finally begin.

Few things to explain:

The Histoire that the Observer was talking with, is the one from Superdimension Neptune vs Sega Hard Girls, and the book that he got from her is a skill exclusive to that game. Yeah, IF is going to get a power up soon, so will Falcom. Compa however will have to wait for her own gift though.

Yes, Eyelander can freely use the spells from spell book. But he can only use the regular ones (so no Monoculus or Meteor Storm) and it also burns out Falcom's SP. He also have an access to Falcom's skills from the Re;Birth 2 that Falcom forgot that she even has them. She spent so much time with Nepgear that she forgot she can use her own magic.

Respondes:

kerrowe -

I didn't really change much in the prologue. I just made the descriptions a little clearer and made the whole thing a lot longer. (Like… 4-5k words longer… bloody hell…) I wanted it to be just a better read while also not changing the base too much.

\- Harmless Orange


	27. Interlude: Possessing the Helm

_Before we begin, I need to explain something. For the majority of this chapter, Eyelander is going to be referred as female in this chapter (with some exceptions) because he will be possessing Falcom until the end, so the ghost is technically a girl now._

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Interlude: Possessing the Helm**

* * *

Neither side moved an inch. Both waited for the other side to go first, warily sizizing each other up in the meantime. Angela's undead forces were surrounding the Possessed Falcom, but the tension was on another level than when they were against normal Falcom. They already had problems stopping their opponent before she was possessed, now she'll be practically unstoppable.

And she was.

Possessed Falcom suddenly lunged towards the group behind her back, the Eyelander raised high and shining with a toxic emerald light. With just one fast swing 11 heads rolled all at once. Possessed Falcom was much faster and stronger than her normal self, far more than her opponents expected.

There were few who managed to even raise their blades before Falcom struck them, and those weapons were shattered in an instant, the shards of metal hitting the ground, followed closely by the heads of their wielders.

It was over in an instant.

Angela's jaw loosened a little, and she took a step back. Her numbers stopped being an advantage if Possessed Falcom can just decapitate a huge part of them with just a single swing. She should retreat, run away and make a plan.

But her legs froze in place.

No matter how much her brain screamed at her to run, her legs just wouldn't move.

And the Possessed Falcom just stood above their corpses, and let the others gape at her and her handiwork, like an exhibit in a museum. "Do you still think numbers can save you now?" She smugly taunted. Her eyes glowed much brighter than before, those glowing eyes of doom burned their image deep inside Dark Magician's mind.

Angela had to reconsider her strategy, she couldn't possibly have a chance against such a monster like this. _But her legs just won't move._

While the Dark Magician was overtaken by panic, the possessed adventurer advanced towards her with slow, calm steps. A few butlers mustered shreds of their remaining courage and tried to stop the ghost's advance, but the Eyelander steamrolled through any attempts of stopping her.

Behind the dying crowd Zeta pushed the shell-shocked brunette away from danger, and ushered her into running away. Unlike the undead maid, her contractor had only 1 life and is in a vulnerable state. She can't die here!

But nothing the others did stopped Falcom for even a brief moment. Undeads' headless bodies fell one after another, none of them surviving for more than a quarter of a second against the Eyelander's full might.

"Time is ticking, Dark Magician." Possessed Falcom grinned her target. "Find a way to stop me, or die an embarrassing death."

Angela's breath grew rapid but she calmed down quickly. Yes, time was ticking. Those words helped her recover from the shock.

She bared her teeth and tapped the floor with her staff, and the ground beneath Possessed Falcom turned black a moment later. Falcom tried to jump away but she couldn't, in fact, the dark floor was (quite literally) taking a hold of her feet.

Possessed Falcom tried to break free, but the shadows were holding her legs tightly. She giggled at the sight of them. "A nice start, I'll admit it. But it's not enough." This ominous warning was backed up when the Eyelander, the sword and not the ghost, glowed with bright colors.

"Photon Blade!"

Overcharging the blade with Falcom's SP, Eyelander slammed her old body against the floor and sent a wave of violent, pure energy towards Angela and her minions. The magician was pushed back but not even a scratch was made on her thanks to her barrier; the zombies weren't as lucky.

Possessed Falcom was surprised. She hadn't expected it to work, but it did… even better than she expected. "Oh! So this woman DOES have her own magic." She exclaimed. "I wonder why she never used it, did she forget about these or something?"

Now, there was nothing between the immobile ghost and the Dark Magician. In the span of 2 minutes, the Eyelander controlling Falcom's body completely turned the tide of the battle. Now would be a perfect time for Angela to run and make a new plan.

Which the brunette gladly did, and bolted away from the possessed body of her former acquaintance.

* * *

Climbing the stairs, the Dark Magician formed a plan in her head.

Unless Possessed Falcom somehow managed to prematurely leave it, her Shadow Hold spell will last up to 4 minutes. That's all Angela has until Possessed Falcom can move again, and those 4 minutes is all she has to prepare accordingly.

Not much time...

She knows that the Eyelander can sense her from afar, so hiding is futile, she also needs to remain in the castle so escape is not an option. Instead, Angela will focus on creating her last stand and hoping for the best. The Eyelander should predict such a move and expect an ambush, but this is the best she can think of. There was no surrender. It's either him or her.

Angela reached her destination; a balcony with a view on the lake around the castle, and the city of Planeptune standing in the background. It's a dead end with no escape route bar the balcony, but the hallway here was wide with no flanks.

Actually... there are doors leading to other rooms, but there's no way Possessed Falcom will be able to use them in this fight. They're dead ends too, and the sole entrance to them is through here.

Fighting one-on-one is a death sentence, she'll need to overwhelm the possessed swordswoman with numbers. Her staff have no room to dodge in a tight hallway, but in an open-area the advantage would go solely to Possessed Falcom. Here, her Familiars can fight comfortably in a group with plenty of room to move, but not enough for Falcom to circle around them.

If Angela were to die here, she'll make Eyelander work for it.

The Dark Magician drank several SP Charges in rapid succession and went to work.

First was the resurrection and upgrading of her Familiars. As they currently are, none of them can stop Possessed Falcom for even a second, but those bodies were designed for domestic service, not battles.

She didn't think she would need to use all of her cards, but she needs it now. Her pride was her downfall, but Angela learned from this...

The Familiars' new bodies were much different than the comical zombie butlers and maids. Now everyone, man or woman, had a body of a proper guard, including pieces of armor and shields for protection, and a halberd or sword for offense.

That made a dent in her SP, but it's easier to win with a well-equipped army.

Next step… Runes.

She actually doesn't know if they'll even be effective against Possessed Falcom. Her usage of SP Skills and this strange kind of magic was a surprise in itself, so how many other surprises were that girl and Eyelander hiding?

Time was running short, but she has no choice but to go for it.

Creating a map in her mind, Angela made hand gestures that looked more like swiping at bugs than real sorcery, but soon as she was done, an orange glowing circle with a glyph in the middle appeared on the floor. Angela felt something like a sadistic glee when she imagined Eyelander's reaction after stepping on it.

If Possessed Falcom's abilities are too unrefined see those runes, then it will be a great weapon to use against her. And even if she could see those, then they'll work like a psychological deterrence, and one more thing for her to be wary of.

She can't beat them with pure strength, so Angela will have to resort to trickery and preparation.

With more gestures, the Dark Magician spawned more runes all around the hallway, creating a minefield that her opponent will have to cross and fight on. All it takes is one wrong step, and the advantage will come to her...

Angela also placed them around herself, in even greater density than anywhere else. They won't be set off by the brunette herself, but Falcom will have to think twice before trying to get close to her. Of course, Eyelander proved that he has access to ranged attacks which remains very problematic. She should create some cover for herself, and also high ground. It's very important.

Angela raised her staff and the shadows slowly became tangible and visible. From a dark mist that appeared near the balcony, a set of stairs and walls was created for her to climb. They were black as night and Angela never saw them break from anything.

The low ceiling didn't allow for much room to build, but she's still higher than the heads of her little army, and that's still great. She'll have an easier time aiming at the Possessed Falcom, and there were even 2 walls on either sides for her to hide behind.

Now it came to her that she could use those shadows to barricade herself and wait, but the Dark Magician ultimately decided against it. It won't fix anything in the long-run, it won't defeat Possessed Falcom, and it won't make her go away either. All Angela will accomplish with it is just exhausting her SP and waste time.

Cover, army and traps…

Was there anything else she could prepare?

Some illusions? They can't do anything directly but… but it could hide her traps. Let's do this.

Angela took another SP Charger to drink and looked into her inventory. She hopes she brought enough supplies to last. Once Falcom breaks free, there will be no resupplies. Everything she brought with her is what she has to work with.

Luckily though, she has plenty of SP Charges, and there are even some Nep Bulls if she gets wounded.

Angela focused on her power and willed it to work. Not a moment later a thick, purple smoke engulfed the floor completely, making the surface invisible to the naked eye. Now it didn't matter if Eyelander could see the runes or not.

What else can she do? She has an army, she has traps, ranged attacks she'll handle herself…

Her mind rushed to think of anything else she could add to her defenses. Anything that might save her life against that monster...

But that didn't matter anymore, the time was up.

"I'm free, Angela! Hope you're ready!"

Possessed Falcom began her hunt.

* * *

The shadows which kept the monster in place steadily grew weaker, but they still kept the Eyelander and his vessel in place. He laughed at how tough his bindings were, they withstood even his sword and magic.

But eventually they let go, and the Eyelander was free.

"I'm free, Angela! Hope you're ready!"

The ghost announced, stretching his host's legs. The combined voice of Eyelander and Falcom traveled far and deep into the castle, but he got no answer from the Dark Magician.

He knew where she went, and she knew it too and prepared for it. She was 2 floors above him, and far into the right. The Eyelander could guess what she has in store for him, but will that be enough to stop him? This one they both need to test in battle.

Possessed Falcom readjusted her grip and gave chase, running with the speed of Scout she skipped the stairs and climbed onto the same floor Angela where made her last stand.

Her work could be seen even from here, the whole floor was covered with thick mist, and Eyelander could spy with his little eye Angela's little army… looking different. They actually seem competent now.

Eyelander took a moment to ponder whether or not those decaying punching bags could pose a threat to her, but her thinking process was interrupted by several projectiles coming towards her. Possessed Falcom easily dodged the threat, which could have ended badly if she didn't. Those projectiles, a series of dark discs, seemed to be very sharp based on how they destroyed the wallpaper and the walls themselves. The ghost allowed himself to watch the marks left from the dark saws before tapping into the woman's SP.

"Magic Sword Sorcarian!"

It irked the Eyelander that she has to shout the Skill's name each time he wants to use them, it's even worse when those names are so needlessly long. But nonetheless, the damaged blade was enchanted with icy power, and with several swings of it Possessed Falcom sent forth an endless spray of ice cones…

...Which none of them hit. Each icicle hit either the floor or walls...

"Don't use it at long range, lesson learned." The ghost noted with a hint of disappointment, the skill looked promising but there was too much of a gap between him and Angela. Then the icicles disappeared in a great explosion, making Eyelander whistle. "Okay, that one was pretty impressive." But while spectacular, even that did nothing but make a show.

The recent failure left the ghost feeling slightly embarrassed; he sucked some air through Falcom's teeth while Angela wondered what the hell that was supposed to be. At least, Eyelancer could always count on the ol' reliable " _Caputus crepitus!_ " fireballs. Two fiery orbs left Possessed Falcom's outstretched hand, slowly travelling towards Angela's army. Those left them with plenty of time to react, but damage wasn't something the Eyelander wanted from them.

In an attempt to dodge the fireballs, the guards herded themselves together. They put their shields and halberds forward, preparing themselves for the charging Eyelander. The gap between them quickly diminished, even Angela's fire didn't slow them down.

When Possessed Falcom was close enough, she jumped onto the wall and bounced off it like a spring. Several shocked heads were raised to see their death soaring above them, as she pointed her finger and chanted. " _Pactum diabolus_."

The huddled group of zombies was surrounded by a ring of small pumpkins, no bigger than Demoman's sticky bomb. They were quite harmless-looking fruits, if you were blind and didn't see the explosives attached to them. And those were surrounding Angela's main force.

But as Possessed Falcom landed, an explosions was struck, and it wasn't one of the pumpkin bombs. It was one of those Runes that Angela had placed, and it just saved their lives.

Caught off-guard, the burning body of Possessed Falcom soared yet again through the air. Her second flight lacked the grace the first had, but Possessed Falcom still landed on her legs and rolled to kill the rest of the momentum. The hot flames gnawed at her legs and boots before the Über Heal spell extinguished them. So this is why there's a fog covering the floor, Eyelander realized it now. Angela has created a minefield and hid it with fog, making it dangerous to get close on foot.

"I didn't want to use those at first, but you pushed me into doing that." The Dark Magician spoke to her, her voice cold and merciless. "Blood for blood, an eye for an eye."

"I see you have prepared, good for you." Responded Possessed Falcom. Her eyes switched from the brunette to the open balcony, and saw the city in the background. Planeptune, the home of Nepgear, Histoire… and the mercenaries.

…Falcom still has her phone, Eyelander could call the mercs for help. Those guys would make short work of just one wizard. The ghost smirked; that was his trump card, the most dangerous force in Gamindustri just one call away.

But that would spell trouble if the mercs, especially Demoman, saw him possessing Falcom. Consent or not, he can't let them see Possessed Falcom.

Guards charged at the adventurer, but the Pumpkin MIRVs were still in place, and one Ball O' Bats was enough to set them off, kill a few of them, and surprise the rest. Surprisingly, the remaining guards didn't yield or even flinch from the explosion, and so Possessed Falcom was forced to retreat. Except she didn't.

She hopped onto the wall and instead of jumping above the guards, she went for Angela.

The Dark Magician swallowed hard when Possessed Falcom came near her, but the adventurer got stuck in her barrier, vulnerable to a counter-attack. "That won't work." The Dark Magician pointed her staff at Falcom's face, its tip glowing with blue…

Seeing the spell slowly charging, Possessed Falcom frowned and pointed her free arm at the ground. " _Deus invictus._ "

Angela had no time to react before she was blown upwards by the Ball 'O 'Bats, she crashed into ceiling before plummeting onto the hard floor. Her already pained body was bit viciously by the horde of angry bats.

Eyelander was surprised too. Her last-ditch attempt actually worked and they finally caused some damage to Angela. So there is some sort of way to overcome her barrier, but what is it? AOE?

Possessed Falcom tried to finish off the distracted Magician, but someone threw their halberd at her and came very close to Falcom's face. Interestingly enough, the spear didn't actually penetrate the weird, shadowy wall but rather bounced right off it.

Another guard charged at Falcom, his sword raised high in an obvious strike. She dodged it and retaliated, he caught it with his shield. The first guard retrieved his halberd and a third one came to try skewering the adventurer. She backed off a little, and stepped onto a Rune…

This mine didn't explode like the first one, there was no pain, but it did toss the adventurer far away, even further than the last.

Possessed Falcom was knocked far away from the battlefield and the minefield. The guards didn't take this opportunity to strike as they were busy protecting their Contractor from the bats.

"That. Pissed me off a little." Possessed Falcom growled, wiping off blood from her lips. Eyelander took this moment of calm to reevaluate her position and who she's fighting with.

Respawning army of idiots, heavily trapped and defended position… This was his and Demoman's daily life back in the Gravel War. This is basically yet another fortress he's so used to destroying…

It would be dumb to push from the front, the defenses there are strong. But there's a gaping flank that Eyelander hopes Angela was too dumb to think about…

Possessed Falcom smirked and made eye contact with Angela. Her hair was even messier than before, there were holes in her robes.

And she was bleeding...

Blood flowed freely from the countless bite marks the bats left on Angela's body.

The seemingly invincible magician lost some blood, there IS a way to bypass her barrier.

It was just a matter of finding it out…

* * *

Possessed Falcom retreated, which made Angela frown at her disappearing form, slowly standing up and wincing from pain. She was hurt, greatly, either from the fall or those magical bats.

But why did Eyelander flee now? She was vulnerable and open for follow-up.

Was it because of her runes?

Maybe, but she can be certain that he will be back. They challenged themselves to fight to the death, and they'll finish this. So what was he planning?

"What in the world are you planning, Eyelander?" Angela asked herself. She thought on the possible moves that the ghost could do, but the pain gave her misery, distracting her mind and screaming for attention. She isn't exactly the toughest girl around, just one of those bites is enough… and there are many of them.

Angela sucked some air through her teeth and searched for some Nep Bulls that she knew she had… "W-Where are they, I remember having at least 1-." She found the bottle in question but…

But it was broken.

Angela clicked her tongue and discarded the broken bottle, now she had to be wary of the shards of glass that may cut her hand. As more time passed, Angela became more frustrated because all she found were more SP Charges and broken glass, she threw away the later and kept the former in the soaked purse.

But after a while, her luck smiled upon her. There was one, and only one more bottle of Nep Bull lying on the bottom, underneath a dozen of other bottles, and not even a crack was on it.

She quickly grabbed it, and winced as her finger scrapped a broken shard of glass, then she pulled it out more carefully than before. With haste, she ingested the bitter content that Nep Bull is famous for and could think again.

There's no way Eyelander simply chickened out of the fight, not a ghost of this caliber, he must be planning something. One possibility was that Eyelander simply retreated to resupply and will come back soon for round 2. There are patches of Healing Grass growing in the gardens and outside the walls, so Possessed Falcom will have plenty of resources to heal up herself…

That gives Angela time to upgrade her defenses, but Eyelander knows what to expect by now…

It's possible that she may try finding some flank to bypass the runes. If that's the case, Angela wishes her good luck. She's over 30 meters above the ground and this hallway is a dead end with no side-routes. There's no way she'll appear from anywhere but the hallway.

And now that she raised this flag , there's 100% chance that Possessed Falcom will come from anywhere _but_ the hallway.

Wait, does that cancel out the previous flag?

The Dark Magician's knowledge of tropes and flags wasn't that big to know this, so instead she tried to predict from where Eyelander could strike.

There's just one route that she could take from the ground, and that is the heavily protected hallway… however Eyelander most likely knows that this is not a good idea, but there isn't any other route that she could take.

 _What if she can fly?_

This was just one, short thought but it wouldn't leave her mind. What if Possessed Falcom can fly? Or jump very high? That opens up a whole lot of options to choose from. For example that balcony behind her…

The brunette turned around to face the possible hole in her defenses. It was unprotected, completely devoid of obstacles towards her… A perfect flanking route.

There was this crazy man in Planeptune, using a rocket launcher to propel himself with explosives… what if she's going to use a similar technique to get to this balcony?

"You six, man the balcony! Tell me if you see anything!" She barked an order. She won't be stupid and discredit the possibility of Possessed Falcom accessing the balcony, she has access to magic Angela has never seen before. She doesn't know Eyelander's cards…

"You idiot… you should have picked the hallway by the toilets…" The Dark Magician mouthed to herself. The designated squad stood on the balcony and watched the area from every angle they could, including above and below them, but not a sight of Possessed Falcom was there.

"Strange." She frowned and climbed back to her podium, Eyelander wasn't charging through the hallway, and she also wasn't climbing the castle to reach the balcony…

Not much time has passed, maybe she's still traveling.

The Dark Magician took some comfort in those thoughts, at least she has some time to work on her-

A loud sound came from her left, it was unmistakably the sound of glass shattering.

Angela turned towards her left-

Just in time to see Possessed Falcom kicking the doors open, and the doors themselves flying right into her vision.

* * *

She doesn't remember what happened next, everything that came after that was a dream. Brief, blurry and fleeting lapses in and out of consciousness. There were a lot of moving figures, shiny things and lights, loud noises and screams. Sometimes they disappeared entirely from her vision, only to reappear in the next lapse. Angela gave up on trying to follow with it, it was just too hard for her.

The Dark Magician was confused, she didn't know what was happening. She tried to move, but her body wouldn't respond. She felt cold, but warmth was spilling all over her. Was she bleeding or something? There wasn't any pain though, just this feeling of pins and needles across her entire body, from neck to legs.

Her breath was ragged, it was hard to draw air, weird… why was that? What happened to her?

The figures stopped moving, there was only one of them still standing while the rest lay on the floor, motionless. And the sole standing figure was looking at her with their painfully bright light, it hurt her eyes just looking at it.

She couldn't move her arms or legs, something was crushing the latter. What was it… she knew the answer, it was at the tip of her tongue… gates? Doors? Something like that.

Angela lost consciousness and regained it shortly after. The figure was creeping towards her, stomping their foot on the thing that was crushing the magician's legs. Finally she recognized this face, and the red hair on their head… Falcom? No. This was someone else.

They roughly grabbed her hair and in this moment, Angela felt the worst, absolutely agonizing, burning pain in her entire life. Her entire neck burned with the raging inferno as the person stared at her with those unblinking, shiny orbs.

"Broken neck, legs and skull, huh?" They stated. Their voice so demonic, so twisted, so wrong… Eyelander. "Oof, I actually wasn't expecting that. Luck must be on my side."

"Aaaaauuuugh- Aaaa- Aaah!" The Dark Magician could only squeeze her eyes and try anything she could to bear this excruciating agony.

 _Make it stop, make it stop, make it stopmakeitstopmakeitstopmakeitstopmakeitstop WHY DOES IT HURT SO MUCH!?_

Eyelander dropped her head, which intensified the pain by an infinity. Angela couldn't focus on anything but her burning neck, nothing else mattered anymore. Not the demon in front of her, not her killed servants around her, not her goal.

 _Help me, heeeeelp meeeeee!_

"It hurts, doesn't it?" The demon asked, but Angela wasn't listening, she just wanted to stop this pain, she would even take death over that.

JustkillmeIdon'tcareanymorejustkillmeandmakeitstop!

Almost as if responding to her thoughts, Eyelander stood up and raised his sword. "You can thank me later for this." The ghost said, tilting her sword for a clean and quick decapitation...

Which she never had a chance to do.

"Wh-What is this?!"

Instead, Eyelander was screaming in pain, while Angela felt… relief?

* * *

Back in the white void, the observer was watching the fight between Angela and Possessed Falcom, just like his placeholder name was indicating. He was supposed to just wait and see what happens, but things were going too far already. He had to go against Histoire's advice and act.

"How do you like this? Jackass."

He said to no one, casually watching the Possessed Falcom in pain and munching on some popcorn. He made himself very comfortable on a large bed, the sole furniture in his world.

He continued watching their interaction, planning next moves, while the two women were clueless to what was going on.

* * *

Eyelander stared at her hands in shock. They were boiling, steaming, and hurting for absolutely no reason. The sword fell from their grasp but it wasn't any concern for the ghost, she had more pressing matters at hand.

It wasn't just her hands that hurt, this mysterious pain slowly traveled into other parts of her body, and Eyelander could feel its progress. First were her shoulders, then the chest, her head and it finished on her legs. Falcom's entire body was blistering and vaporizing, and Eyelander had to do anything to stop this.

Possessed Falcom reached out with her hand, and shouted.

"Tear!"

But nothing happened, she tried again only to get the same results.

"Tear!"

The pain wasn't subsiding and a disturbing realization came to the ghost. Eyelander tried to use Falcom's healing Skill, but he couldn't even tap into the woman's SP. This magical force was refusing to do Eyelander's bidding, she was losing control over her body.

"Gaaaah! Wha-What is this light!?" Possessed Falcom roared in pain, raising her hands to shield her face from the source of her pain, the sunlight coming from the balcony. But it wasn't just like any other sunlight, it wasn't… natural. Otherwise it wouldn't bother Eyelander.

If Falcom's spells wouldn't work, then perhaps her reliable Über Heal will work, if only to get out of that light for just a moment. " _Barpo kabalto_." Her voice was rasped, like her throat dried out. The chant of the spell also pushed the ghost into a barrage of coughs.

But just like before… nothing happened. Even her own spell failed. It was weird, impossible, unrealistic. The sunlight shouldn't bother her like that, but it's doing it, and it hurts so much.

" _H-Hey… did we win?"_ Falcom, the owner of this body woke up, yet another annoyance for Eyelander to worry about.

" _I'm kinda busy here. Something unexpected happened."_ The ghost replied, annoyance ran deep in his inner voice. The woman picked the worst time to wake up from her slumber. Already, his weak control over the female body was weakened even further.

Just as Possessed Falcom was falling onto the ground, the soul of Falcom was continuing her conversation. _"Huh? You mean this voice that is asking me to take back control of my body?"_

" _Don't. Don't listen to it."_ Immediately the Eyelander ordered, he felt himself being dragged back to the sword, this light was kicking him out of the woman's body.

Falcom knew that Eyelander is being forced out as well. " _I know I shouldn't but…"_ No matter what the adventurer did, she couldn't stop the process. _"I don't really know how to resist it. I'm slowly taking my body back, and I can't stop this..."_

The last thing that Eyelander managed to say before he was forced back into the sword was: _"Goddamnit…"_

* * *

The adventurer open her eyes, gone were the green shining orbs that substituted her vision organs, gone was the malevolent spirit and his great power. No, the person that woke up was Falcom the adventurer, a full female human.

And the first thing she did upon waking up, was taking a breath so deep she choked on her saliva.

You can't lie to me that you didn't do that at least once.

But anyway, while Falcom was coughing from her bodily fluids going where they weren't supposed to, Eyelander made an observation with a hint of exasperation. "This burning feeling seems to subside." He was back in his sword, which lay right at Falcom's feet. The redhead picked it up and stood up.

"Well, I don't feel anything." She noted, watching her left forearm. It looked just fine and didn't hurt at all, well maybe except a slight fatigue, but that too was disappearing. "Actually, I feel quite nice standing in the sunlight and-." Her gaze found the Dark Magician and froze on her.

The word that Falcom would use to describe Angela would be: confused. The brunette was leaning against the handrail of the balcony, tenderly rubbing her throat with her face showing amazement, intrigue and other synonymous emotions. Bite marks, blood stains and holes in her clothing were clearly visible to everyone, showing that the Dark Magician went through a lot during her fight with Eyelander.

At the same time, Falcom was as good as ever. Her clothes were in pristine condition, not even a scratch was ruining her body and the once mildly annoying muscle fatigue was already removed.

"I see you didn't kill her." The adventurer noted with a small smile. She was still alive and Angela was defeated, but also not killed. A true victory for her and Eyelander.

But the ghost was less than happy for this. "I swear, I was THIS close to decapitating her! I saw her broken neck, how the hell has she fixed it so quickly!?" He shouted, uncaring to everything and everyone. He was pissed off that the first decapitation by his own hands in ages was not only interrupted, but also totally prevented.

"I-I have no idea what's going on, this wasn't my doing. How on Gamindustri did I survive that?" Angela mumbled to herself. Her ghostly-looking palms were still caressing her bloodied neck, oblivious to the fact that Falcom was standing and walking towards her.

The adventurer put her foot on the wooden staff, finally catching brunette's attention. Her purple eyes darted from Falcom's foot to her face, and then back to her staff, unsure what will happen next. Falcom wordlessly kicked the weapon over the edge, making it fall into the castle's courtyard right at the bottom. Angela's eyes widened, she tried to catch her falling weapon, but it was already too late. She was disarmed and at Falcom's mercy.

"It's over, Angela. I won." The adventurer announced, pointing the Eyelander at her. It was a pretty weird feeling, the redhead could feel the ghost trying to move her hands and decapitate the magician, but Falcom somehow had an easier time resisting the ghost. Was it the sunlight or just her own experience?

"How the heck did you heal your freakin' neck? I don't think that falls into the dark-type of magic." Eyelander asked, still attempting to make the woman cut off her head, but Falcom easily resisted his grip, which was actually an achievement.

"No, it doesn't. But it's not my spell." Angela paused, trying to find the right words to explain this. Eventually she pointed towards the sky, right at the sun. "This- This entire sunlight we're in right now, it's a spell of someone else. Someone just casted an AOE spell on us."

Falcom's eyes shot wide when she heard this. Someone else was here too? "Huh? Someone else? Who!?" Why did Eyelander never tell her about them?

The answer was, he was also clueless about it. "A third party? Here? But I sense only us here…" The ghost answered, feeling confused as well.

"Yes!" Angela exclaimed. "That's why I'm so confused!" She lowered her gaze and stroked her neck once more. "They fixed my neck, but why? From where? I dunno but-" She didn't finish her sentence as she was interrupted… by a strange phenomenon.

There were just a few clouds in the sky, and none of them were dark, and there wasn't any rain… but that still happened.

A lightning bolt appeared out of nowhere, and took Angela right with it. It was faster than the blink of an eye, in one moment Angela was talking to Falcom and Eyelander, and in the next not even blood remained from her. Poof, she was gone.

Falcom jumped away in fright, white as paper. She stared at the spot where Angela was just a mere moment ago, expecting her to be back any second now… but the Dark Magician didn't return. "Y-You saw too, right Duke? Angela was _right there_ and then she just… disappeared, right?" She didn't imagine it it, at least she doesn't think so. She was just talking with the brunette and then BOOM, a sudden lightning took her away. Only the blood trail remained, acting as sole evidence of the Dark Magician's former presence.

"Yes, that happened." Eyelander agreed, saying that he wasn't at least slightly spooked by this was false. "And now she disappeared. Hell I can't even sense her anywhere." She, and every spell that she cast here, was gone. The fog, the runes, the shadow walls and even the corpses of guard, they're all gone.

"...Let's just leave... I-I don't really want to be here."

"Remember that we still need to go for the Gehaburn."

Falcom wanted to internally scream at his casual reminder. They just fought with a practitioner of dark magic, and the first thing he says afterwards is THIS?

"Really?" She groaned. "Really? You still want to meet her?"

"Take her. We _need_ to take her." Eyelander corrected, Falcom could imagine him raising his finger as he said it. "And yes, we really need to. Do you want this sword to fall into ASIC hands? A sword actually capable of killing CPUs… as rumored." He said with a pause as confusion briefly took him. He's already seen Nepgear die, why would this sword be needed? No wait… That's right, Nepgear is a Candidate, a lesser goddess. This one was for those supposedly immortal proper CPUs like White Heart. Well his point still stands.

"No, I don't want that." She sighed. He has a point, leaving a weapon powerful enough to kill a CPU is too much of a risk. Especially when there are people like Angela or groups like the ASIC. It's better if she takes it to Histoire and let her decide what to do with it.

And besides, he will find a way to force her into following him. It's easier to just roll with it.

"Then take a short breather and move to the secret entrance. This time Gehaburn actually wants to meet you."

Now that surprised the adventurer. "Really?" She raised her eyebrow. She caught the attention of an ancient ghost who hates the CPUs? When? How?

"Yes, although I'm not sure why…"

And just judging by Eyelander's tone, he's also clueless about this.

Should she be worried?

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Interlude: Possessing the Helm**

* * *

And we're nearing the end of this side-arc, and to the scenes that I was waiting for SO LONG. One of those was even preceding this whole fanfic.

And onto the explanations.

The reason why Possessed Falcom is so strong is for following reasons: 1) Falcom is already physically strong on her own, fight with monsters all day builds up some muscle after all. 2) Possessed people have tendency to have inhuman strength, multiplied by the fact that Falcom and Eyelander are/were capable fighters (in the case with the later, it's pure fanfiction I dunno if Eyelander's backstory was explained at the time of writing this chapter)

So Eyelander wipes the floor with zombies, and Angela is frozen on the spot. This is a common behavior in real life when faced with events like those, the adrenaline just makes you freeze, especially when a person is lacking combat experience, like Angela.

She couldn't run away, because Angela needed the Gehaburn, and she also couldn't hide or barricade herself. So her best available choice is to prepare the Last Stand and hope for the best… She could technically barricade herself in the secret passage and grab the Gehaburn, but Angela didn't realize this until it was too late. And even then, Eyelander would still attack her one way or another.

Now, Eyelander wasn't exactly fighting seriously during the majority of this battle. He was going easy on her because this was his first fight in ages, he had a new unfamiliar body, and his opponent was someone he kinda respected, if only by her goal. Because of that; he was unsure how much he could do with his new body, and he also wanted to test out Angela's fighting capabilities. Runes genuinely caught him off-guard though.

The trick to bypass Angela's barrier wasn't the AOE, but the surprise itself that allowed the Ball O' Bats to go through her barrier. It was designed to stop and freeze any attack that _she is aware of_ , but it doesn't do anything against surprise attacks. Which is pretty hard to achieve when you're alone against a group and the enemy is already expecting you. So Angela opted for this type of protection instead of typical shield that was weaker and more SP-consuming.

A great way to overcome any fortifications is to just… go another way. Like Germany going through Belgium to bypass the Maginot Line, or any TF2 player with 5+ hours in the game going flanks to shoot the poorly placed sentry from a distance. Eyelander used the same strategy and retreated to attack from a flank. No, he wasn't going to the balcony, his goal were the rooms that were on sides that Angela completely disregarded. Eyelander could reach those thanks to his Teleport and Blast Jump spells. They aren't Rare Spells so it falls into his ability.

The thing that hit Angela was door that Eyelander kicked out of its hinges, it was pure luck that he managed to hit the Dark Magician with it, and barrier was too late to save her.

So yeah… Eyelander incapacitated Angela by sheer luck…

Also, my acquaintance who claims to have a medical knowledge confirmed that this is possible for a person to have a spine injury and not feel any pain. So Angela head got hit by the doors on the head, breaking her skull. Then the force slammed her into a wall and broke her spine, and finally she and the doors crashed onto the floor, breaking her legs. That's more/less what happened there.

And if that wasn't already clear enough, it was the Observer who stopped and exorcised Eyelander. The same spell also healed Angela and Falcom.

Did I make this clear enough for you? If not then just ask, I'll try to explain it better.

Responses:

kerrowe-

Well, good for you then. Because you're going to see another fight pretty soon. Where roles gets reversed.

FourElemental-

I knew I'm boring people with this! I'm sorry, but this is going to be pretty crucial for the ending, so I can't rush this. But the ending is pretty near, just bear with it.

\- Harmless Orange


	28. Interlude: Kindred Spirits

**Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Interlude: Kindred Spirits**

* * *

Once she healed and restocked on the Healing Grass, Falcom reentered the depths of LAN Castle and found it much cleaner than it was before. The state of the area slightly surprised the adventurer, but not too much. After all, Angela's staff repaired and fixed the entire place.

She marched on with confidence, fueled by wanting to already be done with this. The lit torches illuminated her path, it was enough for her to walk through the hallways.

They encountered a Wraith Manifestation, some sort of regrouping with a speech before a final battle, but Falcom just skipped that and walked away. Eyelander felt a little surprised when she did so. "Not curious what this is about?"

"Nah, not really." Falcom retorted. "I just want to take the Gehaburn and go back to the Basilicom, this whole fight with Angela just ruined my mood. Plus, the readers are getting as tired of this adventure as me."

"..." Eyelander stayed silent, caught off-guard by Falcom's answer. The ghost 'stared' (as he doesn't have any physical eyes) at the woman and pondered whether or not he should ask… Which he eventually did, his voice confused.

"...Did you just break the 4th wall?"

The adventurer stopped for a moment, thinking about what she did. "...Yeah, I guess." She said flatly and resumed walking. "Anyway, if I had to guess, that Manifestation was just a leader's speech before a final battle. It's a pretty common thing to do among adventurers and it's usually the same speeches anyway."

"Uh, huh."

And silence again fell upon them. Falcom walked through the blue-painted hallway in search of the cursed blade that wished to meet them. Nothing impeded her progress through the castle, the monster inhabitants were strangely avoiding her, the black and blue spiders straight up retreated when they spotted the nearing Falcom.

It was like the Gehaburn itself was controlling them.

And deep in their territory, inside a big spacious room, was their goal. A sword embedded into the floor.

* * *

"Well, that doesn't scream 'Ambush' at all." Eyelander sarcastically commented, observing the room from behind the doorway. It was big and completely empty, barring the sole sword right in the middle. It was illuminated by a mysterious light coming out of the ceiling, out of nothing. The walls and floor were the same as the hallway itself, but the doors were pretty unique.

Unlike the rest, much thicker and more solid than the rest, you could even call those blast doors.

They were also seriously damaged, someone tried to force their way through them. Was it Angela? Or perhaps someone else in the past?

One thing was for sure: Falcom really didn't want to go in there. Her danger senses were ringing, like the bells of a church. Someone or some _thing_ hidden behind was dangerous, very dangerous.

"Do I really need to walk in there?" Falcom asked, everything about this room screamed danger. Her mind was screaming at her to turn back and run, this fear she felt was much greater than anything she faced before. It was greater than when her fought the Viral Ancient Dragon, greater than her fight with Angela, greater than being stripped away of her senses.

And the source was this ugly, shabby blade.

It had seen better days, the wide, purple blade was rusting and the edge was destroyed. Much like the Eyelander, barring the dried blood on it. The Gehaburn's handle was rotting and covered in cobwebs as well, so was the blade itself. It's gave an impression that this weapon simply fall apart if touched.

But it holds an ancient spirit inside, and that makes it a perfect weapon no matter how horrible it looks.

"Yes." The Eyelander answered, taking a moment to consider his next words. "Because, if not the ASIC then at least Angela will come back to take it. And then we'll be in trouble. Be careful though, I don't like the vibe it's giving." It was ironic, a cursed blade giving warnings about another cursed blade.

His warning was unnecessary, however. Because Falcom already knew what could be waiting for her on the other side of this doorway.

"Yeah, me neither." She took a deep breath, steeling herself to cross, and took a deliberate step forward, then another, and she was inside. She was tense all over, expecting a trap, ambush, or anything else that is bad news for her.

But nothing happened.

Falcom was just heavily breathing in a dead, tomb-like silence. Nothing was moving, and nothing was happening.

And then a Wraith Manifestation occured.

It was different than the other ones, the silhouettes here were light blue instead of green, but barring that it was all the same. There were only 2 characters here and both of them were unfamiliar to Falcom.

One of them was a woman with a long ponytail, wearing armor. She was wielding a sword that resembled the one that was in front of Falcom, just much better looking. So the adventurer speculated that this person was the Gehaburn herself, just while she was still alive…

Her opponent was obviously a monster, maybe even a Valkyrie. They had a humanoid shape but their head was similar to a rabbit's, and there were four wings hovering behind them. She was armed with a long spear with blades on both sides.

"All of this..." Gehaburn panted, using her own sword to support herself. She and the monster were exhausted, Falcom could see that by the way they're standing. "All of those sacrifices… and you're still standing!?"

"I can't… let you… pass." The beast answered, their voice was feminine but it felt like a rasp, like 2 rough surfaces grinding together. "Have to… protect %&%#$!" They tried to stand up, but their wounded legs buckled under their weight. Both of them were too injured and tired to stand on their own legs.

The Gehaburn laughed mockingly at the monster in front of her, her mature voice filling the entire room. "Look at you, Arfoire. You can't even hold a proper conversation now." She shifted her weight in order to appear more composed. "A woman who sinned by making a deal with the devil, a Deity of Sin itself." The familiar title sparked an interest inside Falcom. So this Arfoire really was the deity that the ASIC is trying to reive. She needed to tell all of this to Histoire, but could wait until later. "Was it worth it? Was it worth sacrificing your humanity to protect the one who slaughtered her own subjects? Tell me, Deity of Sin! Was it all worth it!?" Gehaburn roared and pointed her blade at the beast in front of her.

Her legs were shaking, unable to bear the weight of her body. The blade felt heavy in her injured arm, but Hilda Gehaburn grit her teeth and bore with it.

More Wraiths appeared around Falcom, bodies of men and women, all of them lying on the ground and unmoving. Were they dead? Unconscious? Falcom couldn't be sure.

But unlike the infernal blaze that Gehaburn felt, Arfoire felt no emotion. She was a monster incapable of feeling, of having any personality. Her duty was all that mattered to her. "Have to… protect %&%#$..." The beast tried to stand up again, but her injuries were too severe and she fell down once more.

Hearing again this cursed name sent Gehaburn over the edge, the anger she felt was enough to make her blood boil. She tightened her grip on the sword and moved forward, like a drunken man coming back home from the pub, Gehaburn put one leg in front of another. She was determined to end this.

The Deity of Sin noticed her opponent's advance and also straightened up, using her hand as a support. The rabbit-headed monster thrusted her spear, while Gehaburn swung her sword.

Who was victorious? Who was defeated?

Falcom didn't know, because the Wraith Manifestation ended right then.

* * *

The Wraiths collapsed into dust and disappeared, leaving tense Falcom alone in the room. Her hand fell onto Eyelander's reassuring handle and her gaze searched around. Okay, she has seen the Wraith Manifestation, so what will happen now?

And well… something did happen.

The rusted blade of Gehaburn caught on fire. But those flames weren't normal, they were black, like the void where Falcom lost her senses. The flames grew and grew while Falcom took a step back and glanced behind; fortunately the escape path was open.

The flames now were taking form, proving that this was actually an intelligent thing, or a spirit. Once that was done, a featureless humanoid was 'staring' at the spooked Falcom with 2 jade-colored embers instead of eyes.

The adventurer suddenly felt very, _very_ exposed.

"Hmph. That I did not expect." Eyelander sighed, growing increasingly wary. Not even he can make a body on a whim out of freakin flames, and he's a few centuries old. If Falcom tries to wield this thing as she is… "Woman. You must be very. Very. Careful… Actually screw that, just run."

Falcom nodded and made a run for it, running towards the fortunately open doors. She didn't look back and there wasn't any need to, deep down she knew this thing won't allow her to leave. It's always like that with ghosts, they can be very persistent.

And she was right, this thing won't let her leave so easily.

The mass of flames was first to arrive at the doorway, and blocked Falcom's path. The adventurer had to suddenly stop and raise her weapon, as the dark figure swung the battered blade of Gehaburn at her. A loud clang echoed across the room as 2 blades collided together, and the adventurer withdrew away from the ghost.

That thing didn't put too much force behind that blow, but Falcom can't get a good read on it. It's either toying with her or being careful to not hurt her, anything goes really.

"Don't run, we have so much to talk about."

Their voice was similar to Gehaburn from the Wraith Manifestation, just… calmer, deeper, sinister. Falcom swallowed a heavy load and braced herself for anything that may happen.

"Like?"

She needs to stall for time. Just like it went with Angela, the longer the conversation the better. While the Gehaburn is distracted, she and Eyelander can plan out their escape route. Or maybe even she'll get lucky and actually avoid fighting altogether.

Ha! Fat chance.

But how does this mass of flames even fight on its own? How can it even hold the sword? Ghosts are pretty weird…

The mass of flames turned around and closed the doors behind them, cutting off Falcom's sole escape route. Only then, the spirit bothered to continue the conversation.

"You're a friend of a CPU Candidate, yes?"

The adventurer paused to think of an answer. It already knows about her friendship with Nepgear, so lying about that would do more harm than good. "Yes, I am." Falcom answered with a nod, keeping her eyes and the sword pointed at the humanoid flames. "You're a spirit of Hilda Gehaburn, right?"

"Yes, I am. And even when your 'friend' murdered her own people, you're still going to protect her?"

"Nepgear didn't kill anyone."

This came more like an automatic response than a thoughtful answer, although she wasn't actually lying when she said this. Through this single week that Falcom knew Nepgear, she didn't kill anybody. Even when her opponents were trying to kill her instead, the CPU Candidate was satisfied by simply disarming and knocking her opponents out. She saw that on the mission right before Nisa left.

"I must agree, actually. I never saw that kid ever shed the blood of someone else. Unless we count monsters as 'someone else'." And Eyelander backed her up too, which made Falcom smile.

But Gehaburn shook her head in disagreement. "Both of you are wrong, friends of the Devil. Yet again the CPUs' actions, even if they were involuntarily and by someone else, still brought death to the masses of her own people. Even if it's indirect, your friend is still at fault here."

Falcom wanted to argue with what it said, she wanted to ask where was the logic in this, that it's not true that Nepgear is not at fault here. And the reason why she didn't take this chance for rebuttal?

Because Eyelander did it faster.

"First of all. What you just explained is involuntary manslaughter, not murder." He said matter of factly.

"Which is still punished like murder."

"No. The punishment for manslaughter is usually less than murder. I am quite certain the laws of this land are the same." Eyelander deadpanned. "Second. How is she at fault? This kid is no clairvoyant. The decision of hiring mercs was made by the Oracle and not her, and she has basically no say in how her nation is ruled. Right now, it's the Oracle that is calling all shots here, while the kid is just blindly following what the others are saying."

"If she just blindly follows others, then she isn't fit to be a CPU at all."

"Of course she isn't fit to be a CPU now, you dumb twit! She is a Candidate, not yet ready to rule. What? Should a prince rule the kingdom while the king is still alive, and the prince is just a child?!"

Like in the tennis match, the two ghosts countered each other's arguments so naturally like they were a pair of lovers, or perhaps a pair of rivals would be the term more suited here. Gehaburn was feeling more and more annoyed by getting her arguments constantly challenged while Eyelander was also annoyed but for a completely different reason.

However something bothered Falcom, and she couldn't help but wonder what did Gehaburn mean by that. "Excuse me, you said 'yet again?' Why?"

"The Devil Candidate isn't the first one to murder her own subjects. Her predecessor did so as well."

Falcom hmm'ed as she processed the info. A Devil Candidate's predecessor. The Devil is probably Nepgear as much as she hates to admit it, and the predecessor... was that the landlord? "You're talking about the landlord of this castle, right? The girl with twintails."

The mass of flames stared at her silently, her gaze narrowed. Falcom frowned at this strange reaction, did she say anything wrong? Before she could ask, the Gehaburn slowly nodded as she scratched her face. "Yes. Although why her name, and the memories of her, are forbidden is something I don't understand."

Falcom raised her eyebrows in confusion, but it was Eyelander who asked the question. "Her name and memories are forbidden? What?"

"You saw that in those visions. Her name couldn't be heard and any proof of her existence was erased."

Yes, Falcom remembers it clearly. Each time someone tried to say Twintail's name, it was just bunch of incoherent sounds. But they always sound the same no matter when and who said it. "What happened to her? We never found the Wraith Manifestation explaining how she ended up…"

"I… don't know. The fate of the devil, the outcome of my battle with the Deity of Sin… are something I don't remember."

"..." Neither Falcom nor Eyelander offered any rebuttal. They still haven't processed the information about the landlord's name being "forbidden". This was the first time Falcom and even Eyelander met with something so strange as that.

However their thought process was interrupted as Gehaburn continued, unaware or uncaring towards the confusion of others. "But I don't like how history repeats itself. People are dying left and right, a revolt against the Devil is all but official. Action must be taken before history fully repeats."

"Action? What action?" Falcom frowned, that didn't sound too optimistic.

Instead of answering verbally, the mass of flames dived into the ground, becoming a tiny patch of flames with 2 eyes. Then, like a snake slithering on the ground, the Gehaburn zig-zagged towards Falcom, leaving a dark trail on flames in her wake. When the flames were only a few centimeters away, Gehaburn returned to her humanoid form, only much taller than before. She was basically towering above the adventurer.

And when the ghost raised her purple, god-slaying blade, Falcon realized what the 'action' Gehaburn was talking about was.

"I'm sorry. I'll have to start with you."

* * *

With a full intent to finish this quickly, Gehaburn brought her sword down, aiming its tip at the adventurer's torso. This would be an immediate end for Falcom if she didn't backpedal to avoid the attack.

The redhead retaliated, aiming for the neck, but her opponent ducked underneath. Falcom tried again but Gehaburn blocked the next blow and pushed her back.

The redhead stumbled backwards, but kept her balance. This moment of hesitation was enough for Gehaburn to switch onto offense and thrust her sword again at the adventurer. Falcom sidestepped the incoming blade and slashed the ghost horizontally.

The blade of Eyelander passed through the mass of flames' neck with no resistance, like it was cutting the air. Its upper body was dispersed but they mended back together, completely unharmed. Falcom was shocked, but that surprise was short-lived when a fist connected with her gut. A black, burning limb hit her defenseless body so hard that it sent the victim flying. "Do not resist, this is for humanity's good."

She crashed against the green walls and doubled over, coughing. The sucker punch forced air out of her lungs that Falcom desperately tried to recover, it also left a stinging burn mark as a parting gift. "Good deed my arse! Get up woman!" Eyelander ordered, numbing the injury.

Gehaburn slowly approached her with slow, deliberate steps. The adventurer took a deep breath and stood up, using her sword as a crutch. The slight burn made Falcom wince but she endured it. She was taken off-guard, but this isn't the worst she's suffered.

Gehaburn was already in range, the sword already drawn back to impale the redhead. Both cursed blades went forward, and met in the middle. "Once you're done, the Devil is next." Said Gehaburn, pushing her sword harder. This woman was a _monster_ when it came to strength, she could give Heavy a run for his money.

Falcom grit her teeth and moved Gehaburn's edge away from her. The blade pierced through Falcom's guard but only hit the wall, while the redhead sailed past it and cut the ghost into pieces. 1 slash, 2, 3, 5. Falcom mercilessly attacked the body of flames, but she did no real damage to it, which confirmed her fears.

 _She was fighting air_.

There just wasn't anything for her to strike, direct confrontation is not possible. Meanwhile, her opponent can freely hit her with whatever she has.

Falcom cut the ghost into 2 diagonal pieces, from crotch to head. Like previously the body of flames offered no resistance, but that didn't mean Eyelander did any damage to it.

"It's futile."

Gehaburn said out loud what Falcom was thinking. The adventurer turned around, only for another fist to connect with her face. Her head snapped backwards and Falcom staggered from the sheer strength behind that punch. Her cheek felt like it was going to cave in.

Gehaburn didn't stop to enjoy her suffering, as she kicked Falcom in the back as she was turned around. The adventurer yelped from the flames tickling her back, and fell onto the floor. But this time Falcom was on her feet much quicker than before, she trained her eyes and sword on the spirit but didn't charge ahead, even when the spirit crouched down to pick up the fallen sword. Attacking it was useless after all.

Instead, Falcom used this opportunity to glance to the side. What she saw made her click her tongue. She was thinking about running away, but the doors were _welded_ into the doorframe. And that was her sole escape route…

Will she die here?

Dark thought appeared in her mind. It was just one, but that was enough for her morale.

She is locked here with a beast too strong for her, there is nothing she could use to turn the tides.

The dark spirit grew bored and approached the adventurer. Falcom pressed her back against the wall in an attempt to get away from her, but she couldn't pass through the walls no matter how old they were, and so Gehaburn got close enough to attack.

Slash after slash, blow after blow. Two women, alive and dead, danced the familiar dance of battle. Gehaburn tries to stab with her blade, and Falcom leans back to avoid it. Then Falcom counterattacked with a vertical slash and Gehaburn took the attack head on. The flames of the ghost's sword arm dispersed and the blade fell onto the floor with clatter.

A sudden idea gnawed inside Falcom, and she kicked the Gehaburn across the room. Immediately, the flames retreated where the sword landed and a bulb lit up above Falcom's head.

She can make the ghost fall back pretty easily.

But what would that change, really?

She's just buying herself some time, but that doesn't really change the fact that she's going to die here. Sooner or later she'll get tired or this ghost will get a lucky strike on her. What's the point really.

Falcom shook her head and lightly hit herself. "Idiot. Don't think that way."

She can't lose hope, if she does. It's game over.

Gehaburn finished reconstructing herself and picked up her sword.

What she needs to do, is to think of how to get out of here. The doors are locked, and they look solid, but they're still damaged. Maybe she can force them open.

But with what? Swords aren't exactly the best battering rams.

She would have to put her thoughts on hold, because the Gehaburn was approaching. Calmly as always.

The ghost tried to cut her waist, but Falcom jumped out of range. Then Gehaburn tried to stab her, but Falcom sidestepped. An opportunity! The adventurer tightened her grip and slashed the arm of the mass of flames, only for Gehaburn to retract her arm at the last second.

Now Gehaburn was in position to swiftly decapitate Falcom, but for some reason she didn't take the opportunity. Instead, the ghost tried to stab her which Falcom avoided and retreated to a safe distance.

Falcom just noticed it, Gehaburn really wanted to specifically stab the adventurer with her sword instead of just killing her… why? She had no idea, but that worked to her advantage. It makes severing her hand easier.

"Hey woman."

Suddenly, Eyelander called out to Falcom. The adventurer slightly raised the blade to have a better view on it. "Did you forget about your SP Skills? You know: The Photon Blade, Tear, Magic Sword Sorcarian, use them."

"Ahh!"

Yeah, she _did_ forget. Falcom felt an urge to facepalm at this revelation, she didn't use her skills for just 1 week and she already forgot about them. Goddess... She is such an airhead.

"Wait a second. Wasn't magic effective against ghosts?" Falcom mouthed to herself. In all books she read, video games she played. Whenever a ghost appeared, you used magic to counter it.

Her Magic Sword Sorcarian deals neutral magical damage, that could be a key to defeat Gehaburn. However, she could also use her skills to blast the doors apart, and open herself an escape route.

Gehaburn reached out with her free hand, and flames burst forth towards Falcom, like out of Pyro's flamethrower. The adventurer jerked backwards, but the flames still scorched her face. Eyelander had to admit he chuckled at the sight of the eyebrow-less Falcom.

In anger, the redhead tapped into her SP and retaliated with icy cones. Each icicle passed through the flames and spread the blazing body apart, and a satisfying explosion completely destroyed the mass of flames.

But seconds after the attack was finished, Gehaburn rematerialized and ripped her sword out of the wall, as if Falcom just didn't nuke her with an SP Skill. The adventurer nodded understandingly at this. Yeah, she can't beat her, better to just blast the doors open.

But before Falcom could execute another SP Skill, Gehaburn attacked with a vertical slash. Falcom parried the oncoming blade and moved out of it's way. The mass of flames tried again, this time going upwards and scoring a cut across Falcom's face.

The adventurer immediately recoiled, her free hand clutched the wound as Gehaburn followed up with a thrust, only for the Eyelander to move his vessel out of the way and to a safe distance. "You alright there?" The ghost asked while Falcom blinked. Her eyes were fine, but Eyelander could see a bleeding gash on her cheek and eyebrow.

"Yeah. I just panicked, sorry." Falcom answered, taking a few steps away from the approaching spirit. For now it's easy to put some distance between themselves, Gehaburn always moved with no sense of urgency. Her calm, deliberate steps, predictable behavior and glaring weakness made it easy for Falcom to survive for so long.

Was Gehaburn just going easy on her? Was she even taking this fight seriously? Is she planning something?

If it's the last one, then Falcom is completely screwed, because she has no idea what the spirit could be planning.

But in either case, it was time to break out.

* * *

"Photon Blade!"

Channeling her magic powers, Falcom unleashed a violent wave of energy not towards Gehaburn, but towards the doors separating the adventurer from freedom. A satisfying crashed reached Falcom's ears, but the doors held together. Although the was a sizeable dent left from her SP Skill.

The doors would fall off after 1 or 2 attacks, but before Falcom could prepare the assault, Gehaburn was already onto her, spewing flames out of her arms. The redhead jumped back to avoid the dark inferno but Gehaburn charged forward and grappled Falcom's face, burning it up.

Falcom screamed from the searing pain and tried to force the burning limbs out of her face, but all that did was to burn her hand. This time, Eyelander took the controls and cut off Gehaburn's arms, freeing the adventurer from the blazing pain.

Then the former monarch tried to kick the Gehaburn away, but the mass of flames intercepted it with her own foot. Pain spread out across Falcom's right leg and the adventurer retreated to safety, while Gehaburn picked up her fallen sword.

"Fine time to heal, Woman!" Falcom gladly obeyed Eyelander's command, and snapped her fingers while tapping into her SP. "Tear!" The moment she uttered the name of her Skill, a green light engulfed her injured areas, slowly healing them.

In comparison to the medi-gun, this method of healing wasn't even worth considering. It was too slow compared to the miracle of medicine that was Medic's invention. But this was the best Falcom had right now, and she could use something to numb her burns.

The body of flames attacked with a vertical slash, the redhead raised her sword to block it but it was a feint, Gehaburn actually moved her blade horizontally. Falcom intercepted it in the nick of time, but she was too late to put any strength into her guard, Gehaburn pushed her onto the ground.

Falcom rolled out of the way of an incoming thrust and got off the floor, but Gehaburn gave her no time to recover. Both blades collided together and a match of strength initiated, both parties pushed against the other in an attempt to gain even a millimeter of the others' ground.

This was where Falcom realized that Gehaburn got more aggressive, now she didn't wait idly for that long nor did she move with the pace of a snail. That attempt to bust down the doors really pissed off the ghost.

Suddenly, their reverse tug-of-war ended when Falcom stepped to the side, and the surprised ghost came crashing forward. She really didn't expect this move which Falcom took to the full advantage, by severing the ghost's arms and finally kicking the CPU-slaying sword across the room.

Falcom didn't wait for Gehaburn to lose her shape, she immediately unleashed another Photon Blade once her feet landed onto the floor. A loud crash echoed when the energy collided with the doors, but the doors still kept up, even if barely.

Falcom tried again, but a sudden, despair-inducing realization hit her.

 _I'm out of SP!_

She couldn't cast anything anymore.

Her entire survival lied on busting the doors down with her SP-based attacks, but now she was out of this option as well. She could not defeat the being she's locked with, she could only delay it and run away, while a clock ticked down her remaining life.

Because of the Eyelander, she has no idea how tired her body is. But she's been fighting for a while now.

Suddenly Gehaburn collided with Falcom, pressing her blade against the Eyelander and Falcom against the wall. "You will not escape me." The mass of flames said.

"What the hell are you even planning to do!?" Falcom shouted, trying to slip out of Gehaburn's hold. That was proven unnecessary when the ghost herself released her, but only so Gehaburn can impale the adventurer on her sword. Falcom avoided the thrust, but not without a small cut on her side. It didn't even bleed, but the stinging pain was an annoyance to her.

Instead of waiting for Gehaburn to re-engage, Falcom sprinted towards the doors. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her, building up her momentum for this last, desperate move. The dented blast doors inched closer with each step.

And when she was finally close enough, she thrust her shoulder and tackled the steel barrier…

...Yelping, when the doors gave up and fell onto the floor, with Falcom following them.

Falcom could hardly believe it.

She was free.

She was out.

The adventurer blinked, feeling very dumbfounded.

Then her laugh filled the room.

She actually have a chance to survive now! Screw capturing the sword, mercs can handle that on their own. What mattered now is that she survived. Her breath and heartbeat were rapid from the adrenaline, she was burnt and bleeding, but she lived.

And that was more than enough for Falcom.

The adventurer glanced behind, and her joy died at the sight of Gehaburn charging towards her. The mass of flames slashed diagonally, but Falcom avoided it with a roll and ran towards the exit, never looking back.

Eyelander's powers boosted Falcom's movement speed to inhuman levels, she cut corners and hallways like she was running from death itself, which could actually be the case. On the stairs, she was skipping even 4 steps at the time, doing everything she could to escape the castle as fast as she could.

There were no Wraith Manifestation to take her attention.

There were no monsters to impede her progress.

Falcom didn't look back to see if Gehaburn was chasing her, the adventurer could still feel her overwhelming presence.

In a matter of seconds Falcom reached the Castle's entrance, where she learned about the Landlord for the first time, and met Angela the Dark Practitioner.

And now, these doors were what separated her from the sunlight, and safety.

And behind those doors she saw-

"-Freedom!"

-The purple glint of Gehaburn's sword.

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Okay, just this once I'm gonna make an Author's note mid-chapter. Just to mess with you guys.

My god(dess)... finally. You know I wanted to write this fight, this entire Side-Arc actually, even since "Practicing Medicine" chapter, maybe even earlier than that.

That's more than 12 chapter of waiting... And it's finally over, this is the last chapter of LAN Castle Side-arc. What do you think? I know that some of you were getting bored with this, my views actually dropped during the previous month.

I am aware that this Side-Arc left couple of questions, and those will be either answered later, or just remain a mystery until the end.

And what makes this chapter even better, is that it finally push Interdimensional Red-Coded Contract into +200'000 words! It took me little less than 2 years to do that, but I'm so proud right now.

What's next? Well… we still need to officially introduce the Observer and there's also finally getting into Lowee arc for which I got few pretty interesting ideas.

Responses:

\- FourElemental

I don't think you actually can.

\- Harmless Orange

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It came too quickly, too suddenly for either of them to react.

"K-Kuh?!"

Falcom's exposed abdomen offered no resistance towards the Gehaburn, it was like the blade cut the air instead flesh.

The purple sword reached so deep that it broke through her back, the tip dripped with Falcom's blood.

The adventurer fell onto her knees, and the clang of Eyelander falling onto the floor followed shortly after. She could hear him scream something, or was it her? She couldn't tell.

But what she can tell, is that she's been stabbed. Impaled. Perforated.

But even so, Falcom felt no pain, and it only made this whole sensation feel even more haunting.

Yes, it was Falcom screaming. It was the type of scream you do not realize you're making. A sound so chilling it will freeze anything in the vicinity.

Being stabbed is an interesting feeling. At first you don't feel anything, but your body goes into shock right away.

Liquid build up in her mouth, which Falcom spat onto the floor, staining the floor with even more crimson.

The dark body of Gehaburn crouched down and whispered into her ear. Gone was her sinister voice, now she was more in line with the Wraith Manifestation… calmer, almost soothing.

"You have fought well, but victory is mine."

Yeah, Falcom was a fool to think she actually had any chances of getting away.

Because it's always like that with ghosts, they can be very persistent.

Her vision blackened and the pain began to kick in, but it was numb, way number than one would expect.

But that's fine, after all she won't be suffering for long. She would be back to the dark void, and she would know peace. Unlike the others, she is just a human with no enchantments. There is no Re;Spawn waiting for her once she dies. Just the afterlife.

She didn't return Eyelander to Demoman.

Would he get angry for that?

She can't even apologize to him...

Would all of them get angry at her death?

Or sad?

Just like Nisa, Falcom will too abandon Nepgear in her time of need.

At least she still has mercs to help her. They…

They're good guys… deep down. Very deep down. Maybe at the bottom.

Gehaburn was doing something, but Falcom didn't know what. All she felt was something _hot, very hot_ being forced down her throat, it made her throat hurt.

She wanted to beg her to stop, but Falcom couldn't force any words out.

But that was fine, just a few more seconds of suffering… and it's all over. She, she can bear with it just for these last seconds.

Falcom could already see the void, it was within her grasp, the nothingness that Angela subjected her to before. No pain, no worries, no suffering. Just peace.

But… something was different.

In her last moments, Falcom felt confused.

Because...

...Why was this void _white?_

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Interlude: Kindred Spirits**


	29. White Snow and Red-Stained Purple

**Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **White Snow and Red-Stained Purple**

* * *

"Blanc!"

"Blanc!"

Two children sobbed, tightly clutching the body of Lowee's Console Patron Unit, the _awake_ body of Lowee's CPU. Those children repeated her name over and over again while Blanc, seated on Nepgear's bed, gently stroked their heads. No one was cruel enough to interrupt them. Two little girls, welcomed their missing sister who returned after 3 years of absence.

Mina was watching them from the background, a stained handkerchief in her hand, but not even the cotton could stop her tears from leaking.

The Loweeans were happy, because their leader has returned.

Long story short. After learning that Blanc was waiting in Planeptune, Mina dropped everything she had and rushed with both Candidates to the Land of Purple Progress, a hastily-constructed Sharicite taken with them. Histoire meanwhile ordered her staff to carry the unconscious CPU to Nepgear's room. Because goddess forbid she'll allow two little girls reunite with their sister in a place like Medic's room, or Merc's Hotel in general.

So now there was Blanc sitting on Nepgear's bed, attending to the crying Rom and Ram, while Medic, Nepgear, Histoire and Mina watched them in silence. Blanc had a lot of questions to ask them, but she put those on hold until her little sisters stopped wetting her dress with their tears.

"I'm here, I'm here girls. It's all fine now." Blanc whispered, tightening her embrace a little. The Lowee's CPU doesn't know for how long she was captured, but it felt to her that a lot of time has passed.

"Blanc!"

"Blanc!"

The twins continued sobbing, that's all both of them have been doing for the past 10 minutes, and it seemed like they'll do it for much longer. Crying over lost time they could've spent together, and not wanting to let go, in fear that she will disappear again.

Deciding that it was time to go, Medic dragged Nepgear and Histoire out of the room. They could wait until they're ready in the hallway. There was just no point of them being here.

The hallways of the Basilicom were empty, as always, but sometimes there was an occasional worker patrolling the area. Medic placed himself in front of the window, idly observing the city below him. Two weeks in this city, and yet it all felt much longer than that, it's almost funny how they turned the situation so quickly. "So, zhat makes 3 CPUs left to be rescued? Ja?" He said, watching the sun shining above him. How could it still be at an early hour? He could've sworn much more time has passed.

Then again, that could be just his boredom talking, or time here goes slower than on Earth. At least the Loweeans arrived relatively quickly, the transportation between the nations wasn't half-bad, perhaps they're even better than the Motherland's. Those tend to over-engineer everything.

Now that he's on the topic, how is Germany doing? Or his hometown Rottenburg? Are they still waiting for him with pitchforks and torches? Those ungrateful wenches dared to insult his work, despite him arriving to save their city from robots…

Well… saving the city was a secondary objective. Getting fresh samples came first.

Setting thoughts of his homeland aside, it was a shame he didn't get to experiment on the proper CPU. Although he did learn quite a lot about their immortality, those rumors of their godhood aren't actually so senseless after all.

Maybe Fräulein Blanc will lend her body for some more experiments if he asks nicely. Or maybe Rom and-

No, no no. No performing on children.

"Yes, yes!" The fairy enthusiastically nodded, a big, proud smile plastered on her face. All of her efforts, headaches and misery are finally showing some effects. "Great job Medic, all of you mercenaries actually, I'll reward you later but for now, thank you all for your work!" They finally secured a proper CPU, getting back the rest of them will become much simpler. Now collecting shares will be more efficient and they won't have to resort to committing… such brutal acts.

"Ve vill be waiting for zhat. Frau Histoire." Medic turned towards the fairy and gave her a small nod, before going back to observing the traffic below.

"So uhhh… what's the plan now? Should we still gather the Mascots?" Nepgear nervously cut in and Histoire froze, before facepalming.

"Goodness me… It totally slipped my mind." She had so much to worry about that the Oracle totally forgot about finding something that should be a priority.

She needs a vacation.

Meanwhile, Medic was readjusting his glasses. "Vell, I suppose zhat couldn't hurt. Fräulein Blanc vill also need to undergo some tests, to check if zhere aren't any problems. She vas sleeping for 3 years after all."

Now that Medic thinks about it, did Histoire ever explain to them how the CPUs got captured in the first place? They were working for two weeks already and Medic still has to hear how the ASIC even managed to capture 5 CPUs at once...

Well, in his and Histoire's defense, after they signed their contracts, there wasn't really an opportunity to ask for context. But he will need to ask when an opportunity arises.

"And we should -no, must also investigate this mysterious material that composes CFW Judge's armor. We need to know what is this material, and prepare countermeasures." Said Histoire, her head resting on her fist.

"Yes, zhat is vhat ve need to check as well." The german agreed. "I'll get on zhis with herr Engineer once I finish checkups with Blanc."

"Actually, I was thinking about leaving that objective to the Guild." Histoire countered, getting Medic's attention. The Guild organisation was usually kept away from their operations, because of mercenaries, so then why would Histoire want to bother them now? "We've established that it's a threat to Nepgear and possibly even other CPUs. It might be a good idea to warn other nations about them, and the Guild can handle that easily."

So what she's proposing is leave the analysis to people who can raise all the alarms if they find something. "Hmm… a time-conserving solution, yes. Very vell." That would kill 2 or even 3 birds with one stone, giving Medic some free time to conduct his other experiments.

He couldn't wait to begin.

* * *

"I'm sorry for keeping you waiting for so long."

"Don't vorry mein freund, ve understand. Und besides, 3 hours of vait izn't actually zhat long."

Rom and Ram were slow, _very_ slow to finally calm down. But they eventually got tired of crying and fell asleep, giving Blanc and Mina an opportunity to talk with Histoire, Nepgear and Medic without trouble. Over some tea and cookies of course, courtesy of Nepgear.

The Lowee's CPU paused, taking a moment to understand the thick german accent. To her, that person was speaking in a weird, alien way, und zhis vas achually wery hard four her too undahstant. And with his outfit, he was also sticking out like a salt pillar. Blanc doesn't remember him at all from before she was captured, nor was he wearing the usual Basilicom worker uniform.

"Can you introduce yourself, mister? I don't think we have met."

"Oh! I'm just a Medic, me und my colleagues have recently come under zhe employment of Frau Histoire." The german and Lowee's CPU exchanged handshakes and then Medic took a swig of coffee that Nepgear was kind enough to make him.

On the other hand, Blanc blinked in confusion. She could see by the Cross emblem on his shoulders, and his white coat which hinted his profession, but she didn't want titles, she wanted names. "But, what's your _real_ name? Not job."

"Zhe Medic is vhat you can call me, Fräulein. Being called by our Class Titles is something ve are more comfortable vith."

"'We', as in you and your colleagues, right?"

"Correct."

'That's suspicious.' Blanc though, sipping her tea as she pondered on Medic's refusal. Why would he refuse to tell them their names, and give away only their aliases? It could be because they just met today and that Medic doesn't trust her… but Histoire should know their names, so the Lowee's CPU turned her gaze towards the Oracle of Planeptune.

"Medic and the other mercenaries refused to give away their names, and asked to be referred only by their titles." Only to learn that the fairy is oblivious to that as well.

"And you just hired them when they didn't even share their names? What kind of employee is that?" Blanc argued.

"The kind that does their job very well, Blanc." Histoire countered without missing a beat. "I entrusted this person with you when you were unconscious, and he also brought back Uni from near-death, after she was attacked."

"Who?"

"The Lastation's Candidate nearly died?!"

Blanc blinked in confusion, while Mina yelled in shock. The CPU had no idea who Uni was and the Oracle had no idea that Uni was attacked. Histoire decided to answer both of them. "Uni is Lastation's CPU Candidate and Noire's little sister. Before we rescued you, Kei requested my help because their best doctors were having trouble treating her."

"So Frau Histoire sent me und Compa, und we got zhe patient back to the peak of health in exactly 30 minutes." Medic finished the tale. That was one of his proud moments, where he proved that a roll of duct tape can fix anything.

"Seems like Planeptune is still the lead in healthcare and medicine." Blanc grumbled. This was fine, she wasn't mad. Why should she care about some stupid drugs when her nation has the most innovative technology, and the most extensive knowledge. Planeptune could shove their stupid pills up their ass, she doesn't care.

There was just no need for her to be mad, her nation of magic and ideas is superior.

Suddenly, Mina took everyone attention. "Pardon me for a moment, Histoire."

"Yes?"

"When we talked through Skynep, you said that you were challenged by the ASIC. Could you elaborate on that?"

"Ah! Right."

The fairy punched her fists on her open palm. Yes, this was something she wanted to tell them, but there wasn't an opportunity to do so, so it was good of Mina to ask this.

But before she could, Nepgear came out of kitchen and placed a silver tray on the table. "More tea and cookies ready! Sorry for the wait and please help yourself" That was enough to derail the conversation, as Blanc took a teapot and refilled her tea, and also tasted a few of the freshly-baked goods.

"These are pretty good!"

"Ehehehe, thank you! Oh, would you like some more coffee, Medic?"

"If you please, yes."

The Candidate took merc's empty cup and went back to the kitchen, which was just a across the room, well within earshot. While everyone else took turns to refill their drinks and snacks. "Allow me to-" Histoire began, but only to be interrupted by Blanc.

"Hold on. Before that, I want to know what happened when I was still captured. It's annoying to not know what people are talking about."

Histoire sighed in irritation and looked at Medic, for no reason in particular, however something weird caught the fairy's eye. It was brief, but she looked right through his eyes, and read what he was thinking right now.

It's kinda hard to describe, but for that short moment, Histoire felt like she could telepathically communicate with the mercenary.

 _Tell her, Frau Histoire._

Feeling a little bit confused by this mysterious way of communication and half wondering if she imagined that, Histoire slowly nodded and turned back towards the CPU. "Actually this challenge from the ASIC was how we managed to save you, Blanc. Allow me to begin from the start, right from the message itself…"

And so, almost an hour passed before Historie finished explaining yesterday's battle, as well as the presence of the mercenaries. Sometimes Medic or Nepgear switched to fill in a few details, like what happened inside the cave or their meeting with Saxton Hale and Miss Pauling.

Of course, they skipped the CEO's and Supervisor's relationship with the mercenaries. This was something the Loweeans didn't need to know.

The story left Mina horrified, her face turned white as sheet of paper. At the same time, Blanc felt anger rising inside, her short fuse was lit up and and the countdown to explosion began. "Damnit, that must have been a hell of a fight! 12-on-1 and you guys still lost?!"

"I'm sorry- Waaah!" Nepgear jumped in fright when an even more pissed Blanc slammed her fist against the table.

"I'm not pissed at you! I'm pissed at them, damnit! Those bastards sure are tough, but now I'm here and I'm freakin pissed."

"Goodness! Please calm down Blanc."

"At least one of them is dead. Und we learned some fascinating things we can use to counter zhe rest." Medic cheerfully pointed out, raising his finger.

"And that's because some muscle-headed bastard had to save your asses!" The Lowee's CPU retorted, jabbing her own finger at the german. "Where is that Heil guy anyway?!"

And silence was all she got. Medic, Nepgear and Histoire looked among themselves, but no one said anything. Finally after a moment of silence, Histoire was the first to speak. "I'm… not sure actually. Where _did_ Mr. Hale go?"

"All I know is that Mr. Hale took fräulein Falcom, und disappeared to do some Guild Quests. Zhey did that… around 3 in zhe morning, und zhey haven't come back ever since then."

"I'm sorry to ask, but who is Falcom? Is she another mercenary of yours?" Mina asked with a frown, letting the others know that she's still here, as she was barely talking at all. Nepgear rapidly shook her own head in disagreement. "N-No, she isn't! Falcom is actually a friend I made. She's been helping us for a while now."

"Oh, I see."

"Ehehehe. I could introduce you two to her, but I'm worried now. No one knows where she is."

"Hmm… perhaps you could call for her and ask if anything happened. If she's missing for long enough to cause doubts, then perhaps something happened."

"I don't think zhere is anything to vorry about. She is vith Mr. Hale after all." Medic shrugged, completely unaffected by the rather disturbing news of their missing teammate. After all, she is with Saxton Hale.

That didn't actually appease any of the women in the room, but that didn't matter because their talk was cut short when Scout barged into their room. He was looking rather excited by something.

"Hey check it out, guys! There's a Spycrab migration in the Basilicom!"

* * *

At this point, Histoire wasn't even surprised in the slightest. It was perfectly normal for people to have an entire hallway flooded with living crabs.

When or how did they even get here? She has no idea. Who was the culprit of this? Nothing there either. But those creatures were calmly walking through her basilicom, without a care in the world.

Those 'Spycrabs', were literally tiny little crabs, even smaller than Histoire. But unlike other crabs that she has seen, these had pincers growing out of the top of their heads, and all of them had a cigarette and a red balaclava going over their legs and pincers.

She can understand why Scout called them 'Spycrabs', they really did imitate Spy.

And the Spy himself was right with them of course, right on the front as if leading this army of animals through the government building. He was walking funnily and had his Disguise Kit out and above his head. He was like a king to them and all of them followed their apparent ruler.

The familiar migraine was setting in but Histoire didn't care at this point. "Scout. Please explain what we're seeing." The fairy said in a calm, resigned tone. This is her life, it's just another day. If it's not Neptune, then it's going to be the mercs.

The poor Basilicom staff had no idea how to deal with the problem, and the rest of the mercenary squad were already present on the scene, but instead of helping the staff they were _escorting_ thoseSpycrabs and not letting any of them be harmed or lost…

 _Heavy was even wrestling 2 Basilicom Workers for the same reason._

Unlike the fairy, who was barely bothered by the view in front of her (why should she when stuff like that happens daily?) the rest of the girls were less than prepared for the daily dose of craziness.

"What the goodness?! Why are there crabs in the Basilicom?"

"I… erm... Is this normal, Histoire?"

"Even without Neptune, things don't really change here, do they?"

"So, yeah." Rubbing his hands together, Scout walks between the girls and the horde of crabs. "Whatcha seein' there are a very rare, very endangered species of crabs. _Very_ rare gotcha? They're also harmless so no worries, we got this."

"I understand, but how did they even get here?" Histoire calmly asked, at which Scout could only shrug.

"I dunno. We just saw 'em walking through the hallway and scarin poor guards, but don't worry Histoire. We have it covered!"

"Scout. I see thousands of little crabs swarming the Basilicom. I want answers." The fairy deadpanned.

Scout laughed awkwardly, rubbing his neck and thinking on how to respond to his employer. At the same time, 1 crab broke away from the herd and approached them, or Nepgear more accurately, and began tugging Candidate's boot. "Huh?" Nepgear looked down at the animal trying to get her attention and feeling curious, she picked it up. She smiled at how cute and happy he looked.

Unlike any other crab in the herd, this little guy was wearing a tiny top hat and a monocle. Just by looking at him you would assume he was a male, a male with class looking for a female to mate with. And lovely Nepgear just caught his eye.

"He is so cute! Can I keep him, Histoire?"

The lilac-haired girl squealed in delight and waited for Histoire for her blessing. But before Histoire could tell her to put the crab down, a loud and obnoxious whistle pierced the air and attacked everyone's eardrums.

"Stop!"

Soldier, wearing the Law cap and carrying a whistle, suddenly approached them and pointed his finger at the crab in Nepgear's arms. "Girl! This Spycrab you're holding is a very endangered one. You must not harm even a hair on its hairless body! Didn't you see the poster?!" Soldier pointed at the wall next to them, where a weird poster was taped onto it. It read:

 **Save the Endangered Spycrab!**

 **Think twice before you wrench!**

Everyone collectively sweatdropped at the picture of Spy doing a 'crab pose' instead of an actual Spycrab. And what did it mean with the 'think twice before you wrench?' phrase? Nepgear was the first one to break out of the confusion.

"B-But I'm don't want to hurt him, I just want to adopt him. Please?"

The american merc raised his cap so it didn't cover his eyes, and then he very intensively stared at Nepgear without any words. The CPU Candidate froze and her legs instinctively tensed into attention, her entire posture tensed and waited. Like a soldier in front of the Drill Sergeant.

Seconds passed and the american patriot kept his blood chilling gaze on the getting-nervous Candidate. Slowly his hand reached for something underneath his coat and Nepgear visibly flinched, expectecting him to pull out his Disciplinary Action, the Shovel or something else to beat her ass with.

Soldier found what he was looking for and-

"Eeek!"

"...?"

-handed it for Nepgear to take. It turned out to be a rather thin book titled: " _Spycrab Raising for Dummies WITH PICTURES (For Early Readers)"_. Nepgear, still in flinching position, quickly calmed down when she realized that a beating wasn't in order.

Mina and Blanc grew concerned about the Candidate, trying to imagine what kind of abuse the poor girl went through to make her flinch at the mere raise of a hand. It wasn't anything normal that's for sure.

Cheeks red from embarrassment, Nepgear accepted the book and that was all Soldier wanted from them. He said no words about what just transpired and just left them, making sure to point at his eyes and then at the Nepgear, wordlessly saying that he'll observe her.

After Soldier left, it was official that Nepgear just got herself a pet.

This would be the end of the scene, if Blanc didn't catch a rather peculiar sight.

It was Rom and Ram, awake and not crying. They were holding hands with a strange person in an asbestos suit, probably one of those mercenaries that Histoire told her about. The twins gazed at the horde of crabs with an amazement and wonder, while that person was holding them a safe distance.

"Rom? Ram?"

Both girl perked up and saw Blanc calling for them. Their smiles grew bigger and the CPU Candidates waved towards their sister.

"Hi Blanc! Check out those funny-looking crabs!"

"We… were looking for you."

"Mmph!"

Pyro greeted her as well, but Blanc ignored him. (Although if he harms either of his sisters, he'll eat a hammer.) The Lowee's CPU reciprocated the gesture and dragged Nepgear a little closer, confusing her and the crab a little. "Hey girls! I want you to meet somebody."

* * *

Nepgear felt a little bit nervous and awkward, the atmosphere felt the same way too. She had no idea how she should break the ice and start a conversation. It didn't matter that those girls were just preschool children, they were CPU Candidates. Candidates like her!

And there was also Blanc lying on her bed, silently reading a book.

Goodness, when did those two even become CPUs? Blanc never mentioned them at all, did they became CPUs when she was still a captive? In either case Nepgear, well-behaved child that she was, crouched down to their level. "H-Hi there, I'm Nepgear-"

"We know who you are! You're that dummy who got rescued 2 weeks ago!"

"O-Ow! Hey!"

Nepgear's attempt on making a good impression went out of the window when the pink-clad twin, Ram… probably, whacked her straight in the face with her staff. It wasn't anything strong, but it was enough for Planeptune's Candidate to stand up and clutch her hurting nose. At the same time, Blanc lowered her book and glared at her sisters, but she didn't do anything yet. However there will be hell involved if Ram takes it too far.

"Ram… It's bad to attack others." The blue-clad twin scolded, gently grabbing her sister's sleeve. Ram just scoffed at her. "You've been all over the news so we know who you are. This was for taking so long to rescue Blanc, Nepgear!"

"I tried my best!" Nepgear cried.

"Now now, Ram. Don't be harsh, she did all she could."

"Ram… hitting others… is bad."

Blanc was glaring daggers at her and scolding her, Rom was also holding her sleeve and scolding her. Ram could understand that she did something bad, and turned her gaze downwards and scratched her head in shame.

"Fine, I'm sorry, I'm Ram." She said in a disinterested 'let's just deal with it' tone.

"And I'm… Rom. Let's be friends… Miss Nepgear."

Rom beamed and took Nepgear's hand, and connected it with Ram's hand that she was holding, then Rom took her other hand and the three of them were holding hands. Rom was happy, so was Nepgear, but Ram wanted to just get out of here.

Even Blanc smiled, she noted Ram's cold reaction towards Nepgear but the brat should grow friendlier towards her with time. Lowee's CPU bookmarked the book she was reading, and closed it. "I'm heading out to do this test that the Doctor wanted me to do. You girls play nice together while I'm gone, okay?"

Those words were like buckets of water thrown at twins, their faces fell and both of them turned towards their sisters, their eyes watering.

"Blanc why?"

"Are you… leaving us?"

"Don't worry Rom, Ram. I'll be back in a moment, those tests won't take that long, just go play with Nepgear until I'm back, okay?" Blanc pulled them into a hug, and the Lowee family embraced each other once more, while Nepgear and the Spycrab awkwardly stood in the background, they didn't know what they're supposed to do in this situation so the Candidate and Spycrab ended up just staring at each other.

Blanc was the first to break their embrace. Rom didn't want her sister to leave, but she did. "I'll be back girls, just stay with Nepgear for a while." She said again. The doors were closed and it was just Nepgear alone with 2 strangers, preschool girls. Well, Nepgear did have a console, so perhaps they could play some games on it, or maybe they could talk about their nations? She doesn't know much about Lowee, so it would be interesting to hear how it feels to live in a nation forever covered in snow.

"So what's his name?"

"Huh?"

But instead, Ram turned her attention to the hatted Spycrab. "Oh. I just got him recently. So he doesn't have any name yet." Nepgear answered. And there was also an option to play with her new pet, the lilac-haired girl realized, her currently nameless pet, and she had no intention to let it stay that way. But how should she name him?

"He's… cute. Very classy." Rom giggled. The crab, standing on the stool, took her attention very well and even started posing for Lowee's candidate. Ram and Nepgear were also amazed by his actions, Ram for the same simple reason as Rom, his cuteness, and Nepgear because of his intellect. He was a pretty smart crab.

Maybe this was why he was wearing a monocle? Monocles were supposed to be a sign of intellect.

Suddenly Ram punched her palm and a bulb lit up above her. "I know!" The pink-clad twin ran towards a backpack she brought with herself, and took some papers out of it. They were crumpled, drawn all over with crayons and some of them were even wet, but… "We can give this crab a name using Blanc's characters!" Ram held the sheets high.

Nepgear had to applaud the twins' preparedness.

"Oh, really? What kind of names do you have?" Blinked Planeptune's Candidate, surprised by how Ram had the exact thing she needed for this situation. Whether it was just a stroke of luck, or an actual planning made by Ram (that would be pretty scary, considering she looks less than 9 years old), Nepgear couldn't deny it was a pretty convenient thing.

...Wait, all of this is Blanc's stuff? Wouldn't she get angry if she learned that her sisters destroyed her work?

As Nepgear was paling from fear, Ram flipped a few pages and scanned the content, looking for anything that could pass for a name. After a few 'hmms' and 'umms' caused by endless and unreadable walls of text, Lowee's Candidate eventually found something. "I have, umm… 'Great Grand Lord Fluffy Bottom Cornelius Ampleton of The Majestic and Grandiose City Known as Lowee?' Nah, this one sucks."

"Yes… it's too long."

"Yeah, it's kind of a mouthful."

Ram wasn't surprised at all by their rejection, she simply continued searching for something that wasn't too long for the Author to write. By the way, try to say that fast 3 times. After a few more flipped pages, Ram eventually found a next candidate. "Okay, how about 'Mr. Mittens', then?"

Rom shook her head. "It sounds like a name for a cat, not a crab."

"Okay. let's go with…" Ram frowned. "Beasa-? Bessa-? Beast-? Beesam?" The twin turned the page left, right and even upside down as she tried, and failed, to pronounce the next time. Eventually she gave up. "Gaaah! It's hard! You do it!" Making an irritated sound, Ram shoved the paper to Nepgear.

"O-Oh, okay." The Planeptune's Candidate cleared her throat and…

"Beesabe Kratzikatt… Yeah, I guess it could be pretty hard to say."

...Perfectly pronounced the name, without any difficulty. Both twins stared at Nepgear like she grew a second head, while the lilac-haired girl had no idea what she did wrong. Was she going too far by saying it could be hard to say? Did she hurt their feelings?

With her hands shaking, Ram picked out a seemingly random page, and showed it to Nepgear. "H-Here, read this one."

"Carl Brutananadilewski."

"And this?"

"Grzegorz Brzeczyszczykiewicz."

"Now read this one."

"Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious? Ram, what are you-"

"She is a witch, Rom! An evil witch! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Ram threw all the sheets she was holding into the air and let out a loud shriek. The pink-clad twin hurried to her sister's side, who was cowering in fear before the 'evil witch'.

"P-Please don't kidnap me… I-I want to see Blanc again..." Rom tearfully pleaded.

Nepear wasn't prepared to be accused of witchcraft. Well… no one would be. The Candidate's eyes widened from shock and surprise, as she was stuck on processing how this even happened.

Well, being a witch wasn't something that didn't cross Nepgear's mind, but she certainly wouldn't be the evil type of witch who kidnaps children for… whatever evil witches do with kidnapped children. No, if Nepgear would ever become a witch, she would become the good kind of witch. The one that helps others with her alchemy and magic, traveling from town to town and cure the sick and diseased for free. She would need to travel into other nations because they don't have as great healthcare as Planeptune does, but this would be her first reason to leave Planeptune. Because not everyone is as lucky as her. In fact, Nepgear probably still has that costume of the Witch class from 4 Goddess Online that Vert once gave her. It would be too small for her but-

- _Why she's even considering becoming a traveling witch healer? She's a CPU Candidate already!_

"N-No! I would never kidnap you or anyone! I-I'm not a witch!"

Next time, she should probably say something much sooner. Nepgear sweatdropped when she realized how long it actually took her to defend herself from Ram's accusation, way too long. She went into la la land a bit too easy…

Rom sniffed and looked at Nepgear in such a way that it melted her heart away. Maybe that was because of those twins in front of her...

"Really?"

"Don't listen to her Rom! She's lying! This is what an evil witch would say!"

"Goodness no!" Nepgear cried out as Ram pointed an accusatory finger at her. Think, think, think, think, think think think think. She needed something to distract them. The lilac-haired girl's eyes darted around the room in search of ideas… Blanc's papers! If she could bring them back to the previous topic… "Hey, I just thought of something! How about... 'Crustaceous von Hattington the Third?' That'd be a good name for a crab, right? Or we could just shorten it to… Hatty? How about that?"

Yeah, Hatty because of his top hat. Of course! It's so simple AND YET NO ONE THOUGHT OF THIS UNTIL NOW?! REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Sorry, caps. Imagine this as Nepgear being frustrated with herself.

It also had the intended effect of making the twins forget about this whole evil witch deal. Both Rom and Ram were visibly deep in thought as they considered the suggested name.

"Hatty… it sounds, good."

"Yup. I guess Hatty works."

And that was how Nepgear's Spycrab became Crustaceous von Hattington the Third, or just Hatty for short. Hearing his name finally being picked, Hatty made something very similar to an actor bowing in front of the audience, if crabs could actually bow that is.

And the scene came to an end when the doors suddenly opened, and a confused IF and Compa peeked inside.

"Everything okay here?"

"Are we having guests?"

Nepgear smiled warmly at the newcomers. "Oh hello IF, Compa. I was just spending time with Rom and Ram." She gave them a small wave, at which the two female mortals responded in kind.

"Hi there, Gear. Sorry we're so late, yesterday drained us all and… well." IF's cheeks lit up with faint pink, but this time the Guild agent had a plan to save her face. Coughing into her fist, the brunette adventurer noted the presence of the two Lowee's Candidates. "-And I see the kids arrived. Where's Blanc then?"

"In the Training Area, with Histoire, Medic and Mina. Oh! You have to see this, I just got myself a pet!" At the word 'pet' IF and Compa shared a look, both of them could sense new kinds of trouble looming over them. "Look! We just named him Hatty and he-"

-And he wriggled out of Nepgear's arms. In a completely ungentlemanly manner that he wouldn't even dare to do in normal circumstances, Hatty jumped towards IF and-

"Ow! H-Hey!"

-pinched her finger with his pincers. The girls grew alarmed or shocked by this completely unexpected scenario, while IF flailed her arms around like a madwoman, but that didn't help her throw off the Spycrab. With one pincer holding his hat and the other harming his enemy, the Spycrab spilled the monster's blood with satisfaction.

But IF quickly managed to overpower him and pry his pincer off her finger, and Hatty wasn't feeling so confident anymore. He quickly scurried back to his mate, and let himself be raised by her. He felt safe and protected in her arms, despite the vile monster that threatened his and everyone else's safety.

"I don't think he likes you, Iffy."

"Well duh he doesn't like me! He nearly cut my fricking finger off!"

The vile monster cried out as its blonde friend was attending to its wound. Meanwhile his mate looked into his eyes and asked "Why would you do this?" He felt worthless and dejected for saddening her, but this was for a noble cause! However he couldn't relay this information to her, as she couldn't understand him because of this cruel barrier limiting their communication.

All he could do, was to lower his hat in shame and beg to be nested on top of her head. He knew he didn't deserve this, but his own primal urges told him to ask. To beg to be bathed in her luxurious, soft silky hair. However he would understand if she refused his request, he wouldn't hold a grudge and take it with dignity.

But the kind mistress nodded to his request and placed him on her head. He felt like he was in heaven, the lavender scent of her hair reached his nostrils (do crabs even have nostrils? Can they even smell anything?), and the hair underneath him felt like a fluffy pillow. He felt like a king of the world, he was so high that he was looking down on everyone.

And from his 'throne' he heard…

Car horns?

No one noticed it until now, but the twins weren't just standing idly in the background.

No, Rom and Ram and even _Pyro_ for some reason... were driving around the group.

Yes, driving. As the twins and the merc had actual vehicles of transportation with which they were doing victory laps around the room, in the form of small, red bumper cars taken straight from Merasmus's Carnival of Carnage.

IF was the first to respond, because she was the only one who actually expected something weird to happen very quickly. Although not even she predicted Pyro's appearance. "Where did you even get those cars? And when did Pyro get here?"

"Pyro gave them to us, and he snuck in when you got bit by Hatty, dummy." Came a snappy response from Ram, who slammed her hand against the steering wheel, honking her horn.

"They- They're very nice cars!" Rom added, chasing after her own sister while trying to escape from Pyro, who was trying to escape from Ram. They were making a circle and rest of the girls were right in the middle of it.

They had, but one question resting in their minds.

Why did the Author even write this entire crab scene?

* * *

At the same time as the previous scene, Blanc and Scout were at the Basilicom's training area, with Medic, Mina, Histoire and Heavy watching them from the sidelines. Scout was cockily cracking his knuckles while Blanc prepared her weapon, a hammer that was bigger than she was.

Medic took a short, single glance at Blanc and that was enough for him to write something on his clipboard. Curiosity led Mina to look at what the doctor was writing, which he didn't mind at all, and she sweatdropped when she saw it. Medic was crossing out boxes next to… rather specific observations like: 'Looks bored', 'Drags her own feet' and 'Carries a hammer bigger than her'.

Finally, Medic cleared his throat. "Alright Fräulein Blanc, zhis test is very simple. Just try to hit Scout."

Blanc was quite surprised by the simplicity of the test that Medic wanted her to go through. "That's all?" Then she shrugged as she said this. "I guess that works, you just wanted to see how strong I am."

She was calm as the waters of the relaxed ocean, stoic like an ice sculpture, quiet and beautiful like a doll. Her posture, albeit comical with the gigantic hammer, was still perfect like a CPU should be- a composed and dignified leader-

"Alright kiddo-"

 ***SLAM*** Blanc's hammer shattered the spot that Scout was in just a moment ago. The calm and stoic CPU from moments ago was history, replaced with the angry, foul-mouthed girl that was infamous in Lowee for her temperament. The world would soon learn that locking Scout and Blanc in the room together, will quickly result in a brutal murder.

"Don't call me a kid, you little brat!" Blanc snapped, easily ripping out her hammer from the floor. Scout avoided a physical injury, but he reflexively gulped when he saw her face. It was covered in shadows, but there was that one eye that creeped him out, it was ominously red. It was like he was staring at the Headless Horseless Horsemann… except y'know… smaller and more pissed off.

Yeah, he is IT alright.

Medic checked the 'Flips like switch' and 'Strong as heck' boxes while Blanc continued her assault, madly swinging her hammer, but the agile merc avoided every strike, and with each miss Scout chuckled and taunted, rubbing it in regardless of the thickening killing intent radiating off the hammer wielder.

"Ha ha!"

"Nope!"

"Nice aim!"

"De-nied!"

With each taunt Blanc would grit her teeth harder to the point that Medic eventually crossed the 'Bad temper' and 'Rather strong teeth' boxes. Suddenly Scout jumped onto her hammer, as if to mock her some more. Then he jumped onto her shoulders and jumped off her with a laugh, while Blanc staggered forward.

His dirty boots touched her shoulders, soling her dress.

That _really_ pissed her off.

"Why you!" She tried to kick behind herself, but the bostonian sidestepped her leg. Then she jabbed at him with the handle, but Scout jumped... right into her trap! The CPU smirked smugly and put her foot down, Scout was falling down and he would fall right into the hammer coming to meet him… but then Scout double jumped to safety.

"Hah!" The bostonian scoffed as Blanc trembled with anger. Her rage was reaching new heights and she was prepared to murder the bastard right in front of her. Just imagine there's an anger meter inside Blanc going from 0 (calm) up to 10 (very pissed).

Just because of the stunt that Scout did just now, Blanc was reaching level 255. Her blood could be literally boiling right now as steam left her body… but then, it all looped back to a near, zen-like calmness.

"Really? Double jump?"

There wasn't a shred of anger present on her, she was back to the state before the battle, calm as the waters of the relaxed ocean. Still feeling smug, Scout flexed his (rather non-existent) muscles. While she had to admit his footwork, reflexes and speed were impressive, his attitude and looks could use some (a lot of) work. "Yeah, pretty much." To show off his skills, Scout double jumped from left to right and vice versa. He smiled at the still-calm CPU while showing off his aerobatic skills-

-Only to get his face crushed by a hammer that Blanc threw at him. She smiled at the satisfactory wet crunch and enjoyed the view of her weapon, and him soaring across the room towards the others. Only for both objects to be ultimately caught by Heavy Weapons Guy, and for good reason because Mina looked as if she was about to die of a heart attack.

"Thanks!" Thankful for his rescue, the bostonian raised his finger… only for Heavy to unceremoniously drop him onto the ground, not wanting to hear whatever Scout wanted to say next. "Ow! Doc!" Medic crossed the 'Cunning', 'Intelligent' and 'Has good aim'.

The hammer dematerialized, and reappeared in Blanc's hands. The CPU leaned on her weapon, feeling rather proud over her passing the test. "I passed the test, right?" Medic readjusted his about-to-fall glasses and matched her gaze.

"Vell, I must say I vas underestimating you a bit zhere. But you fared vay better than I thought you vould."

Blanc took that as a compliment, and enjoyed the view of the injured Scout slowly raising his hand from the ground. "Medic." Was all he said. His face was nothing more than a pitiful, broken mess that Medic couldn't stare at.

But before he could reach for his Medi-Gun, the cheerful voice of Ram took everyone's attention. "Hey Blanc! Look what those guys gave us!" Everyone turned their heads to see Ram driving a bumper car. Questions arose in Medic's mind, but the presence of Pyro also driving his own car silently explained everything. However Mina and Blanc were still confused, even worried.

"Beep beep." Rom happily honked the horn. The three of them pressed the gas and slowly rode towards the Loweean CPU.

And following the trio of drivers were IF, Compa and Nepgear. Medic noted the presence of a Spycrab- now named Hatty, but he and also Histoire were confused by the fact he was nestled _inside Nepgear's hair_ , like some sort of hat.

Histoire sighed while Mina blinked from confusion. Both Oracles shared the same question.

Why was there a crab nestled in Nepgear's hair?

* * *

With the tests done, there wasn't much of a reason to stay in the Basilicom's Training Area. The twins took their sister away to play with them, also letting Pyro join them (When Blanc asked why, Ram answered with "Because he's cool, so he can come too.") And Medic decided to follow them as well so he can observe Blanc some more.

The rest dispersed wherever they wanted, with Histoire and a few other girls going to her office.

"Allow me to start with this. Have either of you seen Falcom or Mr. Hale today?" Histoire began. Her face was passive as the drop in atmosphere was immediate, the cheerfulness of the previous scene come to a near halt. Compa, IF and Nepgear shared a brief look, and all three of them simultaneously sighed and shook their heads as no.

Mina saw their concern over their missing friend and looked at them sympathetically. "So your friend is still missing, that's unfortunate. Did anyone try calling her?"

Nepgear twiddled with her fingers and answered first. "Yes, but she didn't answer any of my calls."

"I did it too, but all I could hear was ringing." Compa nodded, looking a bit down as well.

The only one who wasn't as worried as the others was IF, the Guild agent crossed her arms and closed her eyes. "Same here. Although I don't think we should be worried just yet. Chances are, she's just in a low-service area where there's no signal, like Darkness 60 or Severed Dimension. I actually saw some quests to go to both of these dungeons today, so she and Hale probably just took some of them."

"Yes. Just stay patient and believe that everything will be alright. As for another matter, why exactly did you call us here, Histoire?"

Mina was glad that she wasn't the only one to think optimistically, but even she grew concerned about their friend. If they're concerned that she's away for so long, then that means something did happen. But all she could do was offer some kind words and make sure they don't panic.

"I called you and the others here, because I want to request an alliance between Planeptune and Lowee. So that we can work together to defeat the ASIC and stop the revival of the Deity of Sin."

"An alliance between Planeptune and Lowee." Mina repeated, considering the benefits. That would make it easier to share the shares (no pun intended) between the active CPUs and Candidates with Sharicites. They could always request help from Nepgear and her forces in case ASIC does something that Blanc couldn't handle. And Planeptune is a nation leading in medicine, being able to import the rare and expensive medicine and equipment at cheaper rates would be great for their healthcare.

But the rumors of Histoire hiring mercenaries to murder the ASIC members is worrisome. Would it hurt Lowee publicly if they allied themselves with Planeptune?

W-Wait. Didn't Histoire actually confirm she hired some mercenaries?

Mina's features paled as she came to a disturbing realization. Her mouth opened but no words came out. Her eyes were fixed on the other Oracle in the room who frowned at her stare. "Is everything alright?"

"I-I-I just realized something." Her words were slow and shaky, as her breath grew rapid. Mina finally realized in what state she was, and took a deep breath to at least look calm, even if she was freaking out deep inside. "Histoire, I must ask something. Those rumors that were spreading on the Internep, those about you... h-hiring mercenaries to kill ASIC workers. A-Are they true?"

Mina didn't want to believe that her senior would resort to something like this. Mina wanted Histoire to laugh and tell her that it's not her, and it's some other group that does the killing. Mina didn't want to believe that a nation founded by the most cheerful CPU in history would fall so low after her disappearance.

Mina just wanted to believe that all of this was untrue.

And yet, Histoire sighed.

"IF, Compa, please call Blanc here, Mina, please take a seat, you too Nepgear. I don't think we should hide this from you."

And this is how Lowee learned about the dark secret of Planeptune.

Then, as if to break the tense atmosphere, Hatty suddenly fell from the top of Nepgear's head. The Candidate was helping him the instant she heard the small crunch of his shell hitting the floor. "G-Goodness, Hatty! You're not hurt anywhere, right? Ah look… your hat."

Histoire sighed at Nepgear suddenly breaking the mood, while the Candidate and Spycrab cried over Hatty's squashed top hat. Nepgear straightened it up as best as she could, but the damage has been done.

* * *

"-And this is the entire truth of what's going on here." With those words, Histoire finished her tale. She told no lies, she omitted nothing, she didn't leave anything for misinterpretation.

A group of nine, suddenly appearing from another world. What Histoire feared to be a tragic end of their rescue attempt, turned out to be an event which changed the whole world. The most dangerous individuals to exist in Gamindustri, capable of destroying everything in their path, with technology to turn death itself into a mere inconvenience, hired by the Planeptune's government out of fear of them falling into the wrong hands. And eventually leading into the deaths of hundreds if not thousands of ASIC grunts.

There was only one way any sane person could react to all of that. It as just too shocking for anything else.

"What. The hell."

"My goddess..."

Both Blanc and Mina were at the loss of words.

The former clutched her face with both arms, unsure what to think of the newest revelation. Should she call all of this a bunch of bullshit? Scream and curse at the fairy in front of her till her throat gets dry? Or accept all of this and run as far as possible from this place?

The latter was pale like a ghost, her arms shook violently as the blue-haired woman couldn't even imagine what went through Histoire's mind when she decided to hire those people. Out of all Oracles, Mina regarded Histoire as the most humane one, the least one to not stop, not even turning a blind eye, but to go along with such… brutal plans.

The situation here was graver than anyone imagined.

On the other side of the desk, Nepgear hung her head in shame. When she heard all of those 2 weeks being repeated in front of her. Maybe Nisa was right, maybe this wasn't the right way to fight the ASIC. But the candidate was too oblivious to everything, and 2 weeks has passed by with a rain of blood and a pile of corpses.

Histoire awaited the oncoming with closed eyes. She laid everything bare for those two and only those two, Rom and Ram were still oblivious to the truth. It would break Histoire's heart even more if she had to say that their new friend is actually a psychopathic killer, and an arsonist.

And when Blanc slammed her fist against her desk, Histoire knew it began.

"What the fuck, Histoire?!"

"This- All of those rumors, they were real? I-I-I..."

Mina was basically out of this discussion, the mere fact that Histoire even agreed to do such things stunned her into disbelief. Physically, Mina was in the same room as her Leader and Planeptune's Candidate and Oracle, but mentally she was the furthest she could be from this place. She would need time to recover after her fragile heart learned of this injustice.

And if you believe that Blanc was angry at her, you would actually be wrong. The CPU was too dumbfounded to be angry. Blanc actually expected some shady stuff coming from Thunder Tits' nation, as her Oracle is a psychopath. Some deals under the table, taking bribes from certain individuals to change certain rules, look the other way at some incidents. That's the stuff that Blanc expected to see when she got back, from Leanbox. Not this slaughter from the meek fairy.

Holy shit. If Blanc is surprised, how would Neptune react to that?!

 _Her own Oracle just committed genocide on her own people. How the fuck would that lazy bum Neptune react to this?!_

"You're telling me, that you ordered your men to commit a goddamn genocide? What the hell were you thinking, Histoire! Screw the fact they're from ASIC, there is a line you should never cross! Fucking hell, how would Neptune think of this?!"

"I-I-I can't… believe it."

Blanc continued to spew more and more profanity towards Histoire, the cause of all of this, who took all of those straight into her face without offering any rebuttals. After all, there wasn't anything she could use to defend herself. No matter how you cut it, it was Histoire who decided to hire the mercenaries, and gave them a green light to relentlessly attack the ASIC bases.

But yes, Blanc raised a good question. How would Neptune think of her? How would she react if she heard that news?

That lazy, irresponsible CPU that was also one of the happiest, kindest people in Gamindustri. How would she react to the news that the Oracle she used to trust with an entire nation suddenly ordered deaths of several hundred -no, thousands of people.

Forgiveness won't be an option here.

"Seriously! Did it ever cross your mind that you're going too damn far? Was all of this shit worth it, Histoire? Were those deaths of your own people worth saving me, or defeating one of those goddamn bastards once and for all?!"

All of those lives, so much blood, so many bodies. Just so Nepgear can gather some Shares in peace, so that the ASIC will not have enough personnel to work in Planeptune. Just in those 2 weeks, Gamindustri lost the most people in history, roughly the same amount of adventurers and Guild agents that die _within FIVE YEARS_ , 1826 days, 43824 hours.

5 years worth of death from monsters attacks, equal to 2 weeks of the mercenaries' work.

I think you can understand the situation.

Histoire didn't give Blanc any answers, which caused her to slam her fist again and growl. "I want answers, Histoire."

"..."

What answers? What could she give her for an answer? That she's sorry? That she was too desperate to not see another way? It wouldn't change anything, it wouldn't bring any of those people back, nor would it appease their families.

All it would do…

...Is give them a clear target to direct their hate.

If Histoire was to go out and apologize for all of what happened. It would be like a confession, people would know that she did it, and they would come with vengeance. In fact, all it takes is someone brave to come forth, and ask 'Did you do this?' And it Histoire could either answer 'Yes', or stay silent. Both choices were catastrophic.

But Blanc wasn't someone who lost someone in those assaults. She had no reason to hate Histoire besides the fact she ordered a genocide of her own men, men who were of no concern to Lowee's CPU. And so after a moment of silence, Histoire took a breath. "I had no choice. We were already desperate to do anything to turn things around. As you heard, we initially tried to rescue all 5 of you, but we managed to save only Nepgear. While I marked that operation as a success, it was but a small victory that ASIC could rip apart if they just bothered to do so."

"..."

"Hiring the mercenaries was a choice made on a whim, not a pre-planned procedure. Even their contracts are something I had to write in less than a day. I was afraid of a chance that those men would go onto ASIC's side instead, which would be disastrous for us. This is why I hired them first, and why we're having this conversation in the first place."

"..."

"Nepgear, IF, Compa, Nisa, Falcom... None of them had anything to do with this. That decision was made entirely by me. And the blame lies solely on me."

Until now, Blanc didn't utter a single word or shifted her attention elsewhere, as she listened to Histoire heartfully pouring her reasons onto her. Her own paranoia, all of this happened because of her paranoia. She was simply afraid, afraid of her nation facing something even worse than the ASIC or CFWs. So she decided to get it on her side before that happened.

"...You're a coward, Histoire."

"Yes, that was true. But now..."

She rejected Miss Pauling's offer to help, even if she were to spy for someone else, she still had enough courage to say no to her. She didn't shy away from the mercenaries, Death Merchants who kill as easily as they breathe, and she even decided to put her faith in them.

And now she was even prepared to take the entire blame on herself, instead of shifting it onto someone else.

Did she perhaps grow without noticing?

Blanc just couldn't not sigh at this, staring long and hard at the fairy. She should be furious with Histoire, she IS furious with her, by all means she should just walk out and go home right now. But that won't stop ASIC being a problem, and for all the blood that now stains the fairy's hands, it got results. Blanc of all people understood the necessity of violence, even if Histoire had gone way, WAY overboard. They both need help, especially Planeptune, if the Histoire she once knew had been pushed to _this_.

The CPU made her choice.

"...Look, fine. Fine, if you want an alliance then we're allies, but we're gonna do it under _my_ leadership and _my_ rules. No more genocide. No one gets killed or permanently injured, be it a civilian or ASIC. If I even _hear_ of someone killing another, I'll kick their ass. None of that apply to monsters though. And maybe the CFWs themselves. Got it?"

"I… accept your conditions."

And the instant Histoire said it, she realized there's a Spy in the room.

"I see... that would be quite troublesome for us, Madame Histoire." A familiar voice with a French accent suddenly appeared from the doorway.

"Spy?" Histoire called out to him, but he was still invisible.

Blanc and Mina also turned towards the voice, but all they saw were closed doors and no one else in the room. "The hell was that?" Blanc asked. Her eyes still wandered around the room, trying to find the source of that voice, this Spy that Histoire called, when suddenly he decloaked right in the middle of the office.

"Sorry to pop in unannounced."

"Wha-"

Blanc and Mina stared at Spy, surprised by his sudden appearance out of thin air. While the mercenary casually pulled out his Disguise Kit and took data for a new disguise, and also a new cigarette.

"You guys really have some interesting tricks. First that boy's double jump and now invisibility? What else?"

Spy chuckled at Blanc's words. He was about to lighten up his death stick, but abruptly stopped. Histoire disliked when he smoked in her room, didn't she? So instead of smoking right in front of her, Spy decided to smoke by the open window.

"Well…" He puffed out some smoke. "There's invincibility, Re;Spawn, using explosives to travel, our Doctor's Medi-gun, bionic enhancements, and even more." He counted off his fingers, each thing was strange to Blanc and Mina, who were unfamiliar with the mercs' and Mann Co.'s technology. Blanc intensified her glare at him.

"You heard the condition of our alliance, right?"

Spy disregarded her words with a wave. "Yes madame, but that's not relevant now. I bring a message from ASIC, from the CFW Magic herself."

His words were like a sound of alarm for the trio of leaders. Mina, who just seemed to snap out of her shock, swallowed and decided to ask. "A message, from one of the Four Felons. Should we be worried?"

"I'm rather curious how did she even get you to deliver this message." Histoire added.

A sigh was an answer for both of these questions, Spy internally debated whether or not he should turn towards them or stay as he is. But he eventually decided on the latter. "Magic found me actually, she saw through my disguise and cornered me."

 _CFW Magic hovered above Spy and glared down at him, who had his back against the wall. She held his mask in one hand and the other caressing her lips. She examined the mercenary closely as he tried hard to construct some sort of escape plan, but all of that would be futile. She had him cornered._

 _She couldn't see it because of the ski mask covering his face, but he was sweating bullets right now._

 _Eventually, CFW Magic decided to speak up. "Do you like what you see here, member of Histoire's Secret Staff?" Her voice was casual, lacking any emotions bar boredom. Without any effort or change in expressions, she tore apart his paper mask and threw the pieces above him, like a confetti._

" _It's a little… cramped in here. Would you mind giving me some personal space?"_

 _Yes, they were in a small janitor room, there was barely enough space for two people. Spy couldn't say that he didn't like the view she was giving him, but she could kill him in seconds._

 _But… she didn't kill him yet. Maybe she was in the mood for talk?_

 _She gave a chuckle and actually stepped back a little. One of her wings knocked down some toilet paper but none of them paid it any thought. Then before Spy could process this info, she wrapped her hands around his neck, and brought him to her eye level._

 _Spy was so scared right now, that he felt blood rushing to the area between his legs. For a moment, Spy was afraid that she awoke something inside him, but Magic didn't seem to notice anything. (Or she did, but decided to ignore it) "I actually have a message to Histoire, would you mind delivering it?" She asked him, her voice sweet as honey._

The french shook his head to disrupt those flashbacks while Histoire became worried. "Magic found you? Are you alright? Will you be able to continue your espionage?"

"Yes. Yes, I went to the Doctor, and yes it won't change anything." He groaned at her concern and pulled out something out of his coat. Those were… tickets? Invitations? "The ASIC is planning a public memorial, in memory of those who died-" "-those you killed." "-yes, those we killed." He nodded at Blanc's accusation. Wait, she was serious about wanting to stop them from killing?

"Everyone is invited." He continued, not paying those thoughts any more attention. "And they'll also ask you to make that day, a day free of work and school. I'm not sure if they already did or are about to, but keep your eyes open for that, madame Histoire."

"I see. But if everyone are invited, then what are those… invitations that you have?"

"Because CFW Magic gave me a special invitation, for you, Madame Blanc and Mademoiselle Nepgear."

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

Both recipients blinked in confusion as Spy delivered them their invitations. Lowee's CPU matched gaze with Planeptune's candidate, and both of them had a similar thought.

This couldn't be good, yes?

Blanc needed some time to think this through.

* * *

In one of the guest rooms that Histoire allowed her to take, Lowee's CPU rubbed her head. She was awake for less than a day and the problems already gave her a headache, it was annoying.

She spent her time trying to calm down after such a… sudden reveal. Blanc finally calmed down from that but she still had troubles believing it. She wouldn't even expect even Chika to do something like that, and everyone knew that Oracle has some loose screws in her head.

Then there's this piece of paper that CFW Magic mailed to her. Just the sight of its writing pissed her off.

"Freakin' ASIC bastard trying to take the moral route." She grumbled. It was Planeptune who put themselves into check, Blanc shouldn't be even bothered with any of this. She had no place in the affairs of a different nation.

But hell, they freed her. The least she could do now was to get them out of this hole they dug.

"Annoying!" The CPU crashed her back against the bed, resisting the urge to scream herself dry into some pillow. Her sole relief was the fact that Rom and Ram weren't here to bother her right now, for some reason they liked that Pyro creep who gave them bumper cars.

Blanc lazily wrote a note to smash or at least hide those cars when the twins aren't looking. Two little brats were already a headache on their own, two little brats _driving small cars_ are a danger to society.

Now the CPU realized this is her first time in ages where she had some time to herself. But after all that happened today she didn't feel like writing, her inspiration and motivation were at zero, and she even forgot the plot of the novel she was writing.

Yet another reason to smash that Magic bitch's skull when she sees her again.

The twins were busy, Mina was with Histoire and Blanc was just lazing on the bed like Neptune, with no one to bother-

"-Blanc? Can I come in?"

Blanc released an irritated sigh when someone suddenly interrupted her alone time by knocking against the doors. The Loweean CPU raised herself into a sitting position and yelled "Come in."

Compa entered the room, followed by IF. Blanc noted that both girls have grown a lot since the last time she's seen them, maybe Compa even started studying medicine like she wanted, to Blanc she looked the right age for high school or college.

The nurse tried to bring herself to speak, several times, but each time she stopped just short. IF on the other hand tried to encourage her friend to do something. Blanc's eye twitched from irritation before she finally decided that she'll start, as Compa was just panicking silently. "Did you want something?"

That seemed to do the trick. Compa jumped slightly, startled by Blanc's voice."I just wanted to apologize! I'm so, so so so so sorry for hurting you!" The nurse sputtered words as fast as she could. Compa was looking pitiful, her head cast down and her hands and shoulders shook slightly in anxiety, wondering whether or not she'll be forgiven for her sins.

But Blanc was too busy being confused by her outburst. "What?"

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you, it was an accident!"

Compa looked as if she would cry at any moment, while Blanc became even more confused. The CPU was asking herself 'When did Compa even hurt me?' but she couldn't think of anything. The petite brunette didn't feel anything wrong with herself, and her doctor (who was observing them from behind a window, 74 floors above the ground) said everything was fine.

Blanc sighed, and just decided to get it done. "I accept your apology." She could ask what Compa did that hurt her, but she decided against it. Blanc already had too many concerns on her head, she didn't need another one.

Also Compa looked like a kicked puppy.

"Really?!"

"Yes." Blanc answered bluntly. Then the taller and more… gifted girl abruptly tackled her into a hug. Two squishy thunder tits were pressing against Blanc's chest and it pissed her off, but the nurse didn't notice it. "Thank you thank you thank you thank you so much!"

"See, Compa. There wasn't anything to worry about!"

"What the hell, Compa?! Are you crying or something?"

IF crossed her arms, feeling proud of her friend, while Blanc tried her hardest to escape the nurse's clutches. When this girl got so physically strong Blanc will never know, but luckily for her Compa let her go rather quickly.

"I was just so happy. I was so worried you would hate me for what I did."

'Okay, seriously. What the hell.' The CPU rubbed her forehead, maybe she really should ask what happened to her… later. Blanc felt her irritation rising, and vented some of it out with a deep sigh. "As you can see, I'm fine. Now can you two please leave me alone? I'm tired."

"Okey-dokey! Have a nice day!" Compa eagerly left the room, her smile looking brighter and more cheerful than before. Blanc accepting her apology was like taking a weight off her heart. IF was about to leave too, but she suddenly stopped in the doorway and stepped right back it. "You don't even remember what she did to you. Right?" The Guild agent saw through Blanc's stoic facade.

Blanc just shrugged. "Yes, should I know about it?"

IF chuckled at her answer. Compa was worried sick about her, afraid that she may be hated by Blanc for this, the nurse even broke down because of it. And Blanc didn't even remember what happened. All of Compa's worry was in vain.

"Nah, it wasn't that big of a deal. Thanks for cheering her up though."

"That wasn't a problem at all."

"Yeah. Have a nice day Blanc."

IF closed the doors, and Blanc nodded to herself. They needed her, they needed a proper CPU. They sacrificed so much for her, people from a different nation.

Screw the fact that her rescue was accidental, Blanc will fucking pay her debt somehow.

But first, she turned her gaze towards the windows. Medic was pressing himself against the glass, watching her from the outside, 74 floors above the ground. As Blanc found him looking, the german smiled and waved at her.

She gave him the sweetest, warmest smile she could manage, and rolled the blinds. Getting back inside was his problem now, she won't let a pervert like him into her room.

Medic's smile turned upside down, now his vision towards the literal Goddess was obscured by cloth, but he learned something about her.

As Medic was falling down, 74 floors above the ground, he crossed out 'Doesn't like when her private life is observed by 3rd party.'

* * *

It wasn't even 3 minutes since the previous scene before someone were bothering Blanc again. The Loweean CPU inwardly screamed when someone, Nepgear this time, knocked on her doors.

"Blanc? Are you there?"

"Yes! Come in." Blanc's answer was a bit stronger than her usual. She wasn't pissed, but she wasn't happy either. But if there's going to be a third person, then she'll tell them to piss off. Or just summon her hammer.

Nepgear entered her room, looking even more nervous than Compa. She was fidgeting, playing with her fingers as if she was afraid to say anything. Yet again, the Planeptunian won't speak until Blanc says something first.

"So what do you want?"

Just like with Compa, that small push was all Nepgear needed to talk. "I just…" Before she stopped and tried to think what she should say. Eventually the Candidate just gave Blanc a quick. "I'm sorry."

Hearing two apologizes in a short amount of time, made Blanc inhale air until she couldn't inhale anymore, puffing herself like a balloon. Can they finally leave her alone for this single moment? "Seriously, is everyone going to just come over here one by one to freakin' apologize to me for something I don't even remember?" The CPU deadpanned.

"N-No. I'm-"

"Save it, I'm just tired already." Blanc sighed and sat down on a chair. "So, what are _you_ sorry for?"

Yes, for what Nepgear was sorry for this time. From what Blanc remembered about her, this girl used to be so underconfident that the smallest thing could lead to even hours of apologies. Blanc even remembered that time when she made her tea a bit too hot, and then one thing led to another and Nepgear was on the verge of crying as she was apologizing to everybody.

Over their tea being too hot.

No one even cared about this besides her.

So what Blanc expected was getting an apology for some mundane thing that didn't even matter, then she'll just accept it and shoo her away.

Which meant Blanc was unpleasantly surprised when she couldn't just shoo this girl away, not when she was sorry for this reason.

"I'm sorry for being so useless 3 years ago. If I just did something to help you all, then CFW Magic wouldn't have won. The ASIC wouldn't be able to take control over Gamindustri if we weren't captured by Magic. I could've prevented this. Me. But I didn't do anything. I'm so sorry."

Well what do you know, Neptune's little sister finally found a good reason to be sorry for. Not some spilled milk or keeping them waiting a few minutes too long, but for being the cause of all the crap that the ASIC was doing during those 3 years. At least, that's what Nepgear believed.

'Neptune where the hell are you, your sister needs you.' Blanc wasn't prepared for this kind of scene, but as a certain lazy CPU was currently slacking away, voluntarily or not, it was up to her to help Nepgear make peace with herself.

She opened her mouth to accept the Candidate's apo-

"I mean it, I'm sorry I was so useless! All this, the people's suffering, separating you from Rom and Ram, even Histoire ordering what she did, it's all because I couldn't help! It's my fault!"

"Okay hold on-"

"I'm sorry I wasn't stronger, even now I'm still not strong enough to save anyone! I couldn't even have saved you if it wasn't for Mr. Hale! I'm sorry I'm a failure! I'm sorry-"

And Nepgear just kept going, quickly devolving into self-loathing hysteria while Blanc couldn't even get a word in. The guilt must've been eating away at her ever since she's been rescued, and now that she's finally got the chance to apologize to a CPU, the floodgates have breached. Now Blanc really did wish they'd rescued Neptune instead of her. She doesn't know how to deal with this at all, and Nepgear's frantic apologizing is giving her a headache! She needs to stop Nepgear _now_! What to do, what to do…!

Recalling similar scenes in some of the novels she's read, Blanc stood up and approached the candidate who didn't even seem to notice in her guilt-ridden madness and promptly slapped her. Nepgear staggered, but kept her balance. Even though the Candidate was silenced, Blanc was inwardly stunned for a split second; she had expected Nepgear to fall to the ground dazed, but she underestimated the Candidate! This isn't following her internal script!

Before she knew what she was doing, her body acted to correct that mistake and socked the lilac-haired girl in the face. Hard. This time Nepgear did fall to the ground, where she rubbed her sore spots. "I-I'm s-sorry-" She curled up and protected her head, expecting more blows coming her way. Still, Nepgear didn't resist as she believed that she deserved being beaten by the one who had to suffer because of her inaction.

But instead of continuing her beating, Blanc growled in frustration as she stood over the Candidate.

"Just STOP! Just stop apologizing and listen! Okay? Look, you were about as useful as a rock back then, let's not kid ourselves, but as much as it _pisses me off_ to admit it, things wouldn't have changed much even if you were on the same level as us CPUs. Freakin' four of us didn't even put a scratch on that bitch, what do you think a fifth one would've done?"

Blanc crossed her arms and waited for her answer. Moments passed as Nepgear played an armadillo, but the Candidate eventually realized that Blanc wanted her answer.

"I don't know. Win? Maybe?"

"No. Not in the freakin' hell we would've won that fight." Blanc countered almost immediately. It hurt her pride and ego to admit it, but this kid needed it. "And if I'm saying this, then you know shit was real. That bastard was too powerful for us, you weren't ready for a fight like that and no one expected you to be, so just let it go. Here." The CPU extended her hand towards her. Nepgear looked at it, debating whether she should or not.

"Goddamnit! Just take it already!"

And Nepgear timidly took Blanc's hand and allowed herself to be raised. "I still could have done something more back then."

"Yeah, you could've, but it wouldn't have mattered at all." Blanc reminded her. "Honestly the best thing you could've done in that situation was to tuck your tail between your legs and run."

"R-Run? But I could never abandon you!" Nepgear admitted, her eyes widening. But then she realized something. Nepgear already abandoned her, her sister, and the other CPUs in the Gamindustri Graveyard. She wasted their way to save others, just to save IF and Compa. "I-I'm sorry again. This time for leaving you all back in the Graveyard."

Blanc was two steps from banging her head against the wall. No wait- she was doing it.

"WILL. YOU. STOP. APOLOGIZING?!"

"Wha- Blanc! Stop!"

"NO. I. DON'T. CAAAAAAAAAAREEEEEEEE!"

Would it be bad if Blanc just left her and went to Rom and Ram? They pissed her off too, but not in the way that Nepgear is doing right now. This girl was breaking her down on an emotional level, while the twins simply pissed her off.

It took a moment for Blanc to finally calm down from her head banging moment (from which the only evidence were cracks in the wall, Blanc's hair wasn't even disturbed from any of this.) But once that was the past, the good parts of Blanc decided to console Nepgear some more.

But she swore to the true goddess that if she apologized one more goddamn time she'll leave her on the spot and go look for the twins.

"For fuck's sake Nepgear… just stay down and listen." The Lowee's CPU growled.

"Yes!" Obedient like a little child (who isn't Rom or Ram), Nepgear sat down on her knees. It kinda confused Blanc because there were different, much more comfortable spots to sit on, but the Candidate specifically decided to sit on the floor. Whatever.

"This. Doesn't matter. There was nothing you could do to save us, not back then with Magic, and not when you were rescued. You did the right thing by just pulling out with IF and Compa. You did GOOD. You understand that already?"

Blanc was already gritting her teeth as she tried to come through this thick-headed moron in front of her. Moron who just casted her head down, and stubbornly answered with "B-But, if it was you, or Neptune, or any other CPU that IF and Compa saved, things would've been better."

...

This girl… is such a pain in the ass right now. Even more than before. Before Blanc could just tune her out and ignore her, but this time Blanc actually needed to listen to her to do the job that Neptune should do, and by the goddess (that is herself) does Neptune owe her big time for this.

She was about to punch Nepgear again for being stubborn, but instead she just clutched her face with it. "Just like everything else, it wouldn't matter. No matter who would be rescued, there would still be four CPUs in the Graveyard, 1 freed CPU with survivor's guilt, and the ASIC everywhere. No one, holds a grudge towards you… maybe except Chika but screw that psychopath."

All the things that happened were just beyond Nepgear's ability. The only thing that Blanc could really blame her for is not stopping this genocide that Histoire ordered… but Blanc could kinda relate to that one.

Is everyone in Planeptune just stubborn in some nonsense way?

But finally… Nepgear's shoulders dropped a little and Blanc heard something that made all of this worth it. "Thank you, Blanc. Really, thank you." The Candidate tried to hug Blanc, and this time the CPU gladly reciprocated the gesture. She finally got through to her.

"-And I'm sorry."

Nepgear didn't even finish her sentence before Blanc slammed the doors shut. The Loweean CPU left the room with her fists itching from anger. "Rom? Ram? Where are you?"

Call it a lazy way to end a scene, but Blanc just could not get through that stubborn idiot's head.

Not without Blanc exploding from anger.

* * *

A girl, blue hair, red scarf and a jumpsuit, jumped from tree to tree in order to avoid gunfire. She jumped again, and the branch she was standing on was blown to pieces with a mix of gunfire and explosives.

As she gracefully soared through the air, the blue haired girl retaliated by shooting them with her gun… which was shaped like a penguin, for some reason. Bullets flew both sides, as her opponents didn't bother taking cover. Bullets stuck them, but they didn't flinch, the girl's only inditation that she hit someone was a robotic cry of pain.

She hid behind a tree, her breath ragged from exhaustion. She had to run for quite a while now, even her stamina had its limit. And to make matters worse, it didn't seem like they were tired at all, _of course they're not tired at all! She's fighting robots!_ The machines were circling around her, wary of any surprises, as they laid waste to her hiding spot. She crouched down and clutched her head as pieces of wood and bullets flew by her, as the gunfire focused on her sole cover. They were trying to expose and surround her. And it almost worked.

Almost.

"EX: Multi Blaster!"

A beam of blue light consumed the machines on her left side, and the survivors stopped firing at the blue-haired girl (for which she thanked her teammate), and trailed their guns on the mysterious assailant instead. Now left alone, the girl regained her breath and observed. The next tree or bush is too far away, the robots briefly forgot that she even existed and focused on her teammate. With their superior numbers, they most likely pinned her down. She had to regain her stamina and act, fast.

The tree she's hiding behind is still standing, barely. Maybe if she brought it down on them?

The blue-haired girl jumped away from the tree, before jumping right back at it. "Justice Kick!" She shouted as her boot connected bark. After already being damaged by gunfire, the tree toppled over with ease. A few surprised robots were crushed underneath, and she threw her knives at a few more before hiding back again from the remaining army.

The machines refocused on her, but the mysterious assailant, a girl with black hair wearing a black dress, peeked out of cover and unloaded her rifle at them. "Taste these bullets!" A few bots fell from her gunfire, and those who tried to take her down had a knife thrown at them with expert accuracy and speed.

Sandwiched between two threats, machines fell one-by-one until the last one was defeated. The two last standing women released an exhausted sigh at the job done.

Nisa, Gamindustri's Heroine of Justice, wiped some sweat off her brow and smiled at her sidekick, the Lastation's CPU Candidate Uni. "I thank you for saving me, Uni." Nisa gave her a salute, but Uni just shrugged it off… feeling slightly embarrassed by her… in general.

"I-It's nothing big, I was just doing what Noire would do. Thanks for taking their attention back when they were focusing on ME though." Because she knew that getting out of that situation would be hard if she was on her own.

"In the name of justice, I say we're even!"

Uni awkwardly chucked at Heroine's words. Sure, in the name of justice…

Shifting into more serious gear, Nisa crouched down and raised one of the machines they just destroyed, to have a closer look at it. "Do you know how many of those are left? It feels like we already destroyed a platoon of those machines." And why did they resemble those… those _Death Merchants_ from Planeptune.

All Uni could offer, was a troubled shake of the head. "Not really. All Kei knows is that there's a lot of them swarming this forest. We don't even know how they even appeared." She frowned as she counted the half-burnt bills that the machines dropped. It's not currency she knows about, but that's money she's holding.

Why were these robots running on money? No one knows. Why did they appear here? No one knows. How did they appear? No one knows. Why did this machine look like the Doctor from before? No one knows. Her sister's nation was under attack by a mysterious army of robots. Who did this?

No one knows. But Uni was eager to punch them in the face.

Nisa stood up, looked at Uni and gave a heroic pose. "Then for the peace of Gamindustri, I, Nisa, will lend you a hand in defeating this evil, and protecting the weak!"

"..."

All Candidate could do was blink at Nisa's audacious proclaim. She wasn't used to the heroine's 'grand' speech pattern. But... "I-I could it alone, you know?" She was a CPU Candidate, sister of Noire. She didn't need any helpers.

However that didn't pose any problems to Nisa. "I understand and respect your decisions, Lastation's Candidate. However don't you think it would be beneficial for us to team up and together defeat the wicked? Two heads are better than one as the saying went." And more importantly, Nisa ran out of money by just getting here.

"Fine, geez." Uni groaned, Nisa had a point and she saw that. They don't know much about these machines, so fighting alone would be more dangerous than fighting in a pair.

That didn't mean she can't handle all of them alone if she wanted to!

But if there was someone to watch her skills, that wouldn't hurt.

Nisa was about to declare her joy to the heavens, but both her and Uni heard something crashing close to them, it was like a quiet thunder that crashed just a few meters away from them (kinda paradoxical, I know). Both girls snapped towards the source, knives and gun ready.

The source was a group they failed to sense approaching.

No, this group wasn't there until now. They just appeared there as if… teleported. More robots appeared, and they had their guns trained at them. Nisa and Uni were about to jump towards cover but… "Stop!" A human male yelled. His voice was refined, and yet rough; the girls ignored his command and split to take cover.

But the robots didn't fire a round.

Nisa sensed something wrong and frowned. Uni felt that too, but she kept her gun pointed at the invaders. There was someone hidden behind those robots, but she didn't have visual on him. "Let's not do anything rash. I want just want to talk." He said.

"How about you show yourself first?" Uni yelled. He didn't sound like a robot, more like an old man. Her prediction was spot on when the ground of robots dispersed, and a very old person appeared in her vision, wearing a gray suit.

Gray Mann raised his hands to show he didn't have a weapon. All he had was a golden pocket watch. "See, young woman. I'm unarmed and not a threat."

But neither Uni nor Nisa were convinced. "Funny thing to say with those killer bots behind you." Any act of aggression, and Uni would be the first one to shoot him, and Gray Mann knew it, and he also noticed his own machines scattered around the field.

"Yes, and I want to discuss this matter first. If you don't mind."

"You evil heathen, tell us the reason why you're invading Lastation?"

Nisa's words confused the last standing Mann, although he didn't show it. Invade? Lastation? What were his own robots doing without his supervision?

"I'll explain myself, but drop your weapons first."

Whatever it may be, Gray Mann didn't need to create any enemies. Especially not now and not in this new, mysterious world.

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **White Snow and Red-Stained Purple**

* * *

At first I wanted to split this chapter into 2 parts, the first one being comedy-focused and leave the heavier stuff for later. But then MortalitasBorealis told to me to put everything together because I sidetracked off the plot for too long, so here you have it around 14k strong chapter.

This entire chapter takes place during the first 3 chapters of Falcom's Arc. When she was lying unconscious in front of the LAN Castle. And the 'Spycrabs' mentioned in this chapter are a misc named 'Spycrab' for Spy, just an alive version of it.

And yeah, Hatty is in love with Nepgear.

Nisa is back too! I didn't forget about her, it's just I didn't need her till later. I still don't need her now, but I could start explaining what is happening before she crosses paths with mercs again.

So what do you think? Let me know.

Responses:

FourElemental -

And because there's no 4th wall in Neptunia. Characters and say and talk whatever they want. There are no consequences in destroying something that doesn't exist.

\- Harmless Orange


	30. The Guardian Angel

**Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **The Guardian Angel**

* * *

Peace.

Falcom felt at peace.

No pain, no misery, no anxiety, no suffering. All of her problems just disappeared.

All that remained was peace.

Falcom sighed and scratched her head. She finally died, huh? By the hands of Gehaburn no less. She worked so hard to escape, only to find out that this was all part of her trap. She has to applaud Highlander's ingenuity, Falcom really felt like she was out of the woods.

But nope, it turned out that Gehaburn was already there, waiting for Falcom. And so the ghost killed her when Falcom's guard was dropped.

She was taking her whole death much better than she expected.

But that didn't matter anymore, this was the afterlife… which looked way emptier than she expected it to be. Where was everybody? Where was the golden gate or the final judgement? No matter where Falcom looked, there was just an empty whiteness all around her. It makes it look boring.

Maybe she was already judged by her sins, and she isn't in Heaven, but rather in Purgatory or even Hell?!

She did kill other people… if monsters were really the reincarnation of deceased humans.

Falcom began to panic. Was this empty space her punishment? Was she doomed to live forever in this empty space, bored for eternity?

Falcom hyperventilated, but a sudden thought brought her panic to a complete halt. "W-Wait a moment, that would mean I should be a monster as well..."

There was no evidence supporting this hypothesis, but Angela said that there were clinically dead people who testified that they saw life through the eyes of monsters. Falcom was afraid that something similar happened to her, but she felt relief when all she saw was her human body. No signs of monster transformation nor wounds… which was interesting. Her injury had completely disappeared.

The adventurer shuddered at the memories of her own death. They were hazy, but she could clearly remember the sensation of being impaled, and that burning feeling of Gehaburn forcing something into her.

A true nightmare fuel.

But that was over, and she was on the other side. One question lingered in her mind.

What now?

And someone answered her call.

"Now you wrap up your internal monologue, and turn around so we can begin."

* * *

A man stood behind her, standing amidst the white. The man was surprisingly short, just as tall as Falcom. He wore a black suit with a vest and without a tie. Falcom would've thought him nothing more than a pretty ordinary businessman.

If it weren't for those eyes of his.

They were scary, weird, menacing. Falcom couldn't move her gaze away from them. They were brown, just like his hair, and their gaze pierced through her as if she was nothing, less than nothing even. It unnerved the adventurer and she couldn't help but to plea. "Can you… not glare at me this way? It's creepy." She tried her hardest to look anywhere else, but her eyes kept coming back to them.

"What? Oh, I'm not actually glaring at you in any particular way, my eyes just look like that." He bluntly answered. His voice held a strange, almost funny accent to it.

"Oh." The adventurer didn't know what to say. Should she feel sorry for assuming, or maybe ask him to turn around so he can stop unnerving her? She didn't really know what to say to him, so it took some time before she finally asked. "C-Can you-? Um. W-Who are you? Where is this place? Why am I here?"

A corner of his mouth turned upwards, raising Falcom's guard even further. "Don't worry, I'll explain everything. But first, let me change the scenery a bit." He clapped his hands and Falcom blinked. When she opened her eyes, the whole world had changed.

Now Falcom and the man were standing on top of a small hill, underneath a giant tree. Short, green grass and blue sky span out as far as Falcom could see. The sky held no sun and yet there were lights and shadows in this world, just like in the real world. There was even a small, pleasant wind caressing the redhead.

"Woah." Falcom breathed out, awe overtaking her. Literally in the blink of an eye the nothingness was replaced with something. She wouldn't have believed it if she didn't just see it with her own eyes, it was breathtaking.

The adventurer turned her gaze towards the person responsible for this. He was lying on the grass, with his back against the tree, he watched her reacting towards this phenomenon with a smile on his face, which was just slightly more bearable to watch than his ugly gaze.

"This is my domain, I control everything here." He explained Falcom's unsaid question. "Look! You're Nepgear now!"

"Huh? EEEEEEH!?" Now-not-Falcom recoiled as she found herself turned into a lilac-haired Candidate, complete with her voice and mannerism. "W-What the goodness? Why am I Nepgear now?!"

"To lighten up the mood a little?" The brunette man shrugged and watched her panic.

"It's not funny though!" Nepgear (Falcom) cried out. "Change me back, please!"

The stranger made no motions but Falcom was turned back to normal nonetheless. The adventurer checked every inch of her body in order to be sure that she was herself, while the man smiled and shook his head.

"Thanks." Falcom sighed, finding nothing weird with her body.

"No problem. Please, take a seat."

The man tapped the ground next to him. Falcom took the hint and sat down on the spot. The wind felt great and the temperature was just right, but Falcom wanted answers. "So… who are you?"

No verbal answer came from him, instead he stood up and watched the sky above them with his back turned towards Falcom. 4 seconds passed and Falcom wanted to ask again, but he abruptly turned towards her. His eyes were much friendlier and easier to look at than before.

He dramatically flourished his arms and spread them wide. "You can call me your Guardian Angel, because that's basically what my job is!"

…

"What?" Falcom deadpanned, unsure if this is yet another of his jokes. But this 'Guardian Angel' just chuckled at her again, as if she said something funny. "Okay, maybe I went too far with this. Sorry." He coughed off his amusement and tried again, this time with his right hand placed at his chest.

"My name is Samuel Neikan. I'm an overseer of the NEO Hyper Dimension... or just your dimension to put it in a simpler way."

Falcom blinked at his even weirder introduction. Overseer of what? "NEO Hyper Dimension?" Falcom asked, her forehead creased. Was this another of his jokes?

"Yes." Samuel nodded and put his hands behind his head. "I wasn't joking there but that's irrelevant. What is relevant though is… well." He scratched his head, thinking how he should reveal the next information.

And then Falcom suddenly gasped, realizing something big.

"So YOU are the Author?"

"..."

The adventurer pointed at him accusingly, while Samuel was too dumbfounded to react. She caught him off guard and all he could do was stare in shock. Him? The fruit who wrote this very sentence you guys are reading, this Harmless Orange person who created this story? Where did she get this idea?

He laughed at her with his funny, almost embarrassing voice of his. "N-No." He shook his head in denial. "I am _not_ the Author, their self-insert, God, or something similar. I'm a human just like you, I _do_ work for a god _dess,_ but I'm a human myself."

His laugh died into a chuckle before stopping completely, the only evidence of his amusement a small smile decorating his face. "I make mistakes, just like everyone else. Which brings us to why you're here."

Why she was here? The way Samuel said that line was like it wasn't anything obvious, but no matter how long Falcom thought of a reason for her to be here, it all ended on the same reason. Which could be why he emphasised it like that.

"I'm here… because I died? Right?" Falcom wasn't sure whether it was right or wrong, but this was the only answer she had at her disposal.

"No no no." Samuel quickly denied, his hands shaking rapidly. "You actually aren't dead. You were pretty close, yeah. Very close. But you're still living."

…

"Wait... what?!" She is alive?! Falcom recoiled at this unexpected reveal, her eyes wide. She was _impaled_ with a pretty wide and thick sword. Impaled. No way in hell she would survive that! "What? How am I still alive when I'm here in the afterlife? I was stabbed, and then I bled out. How could I survive that?" Falcom stood up, piling more questions one on top of the other.

She was genuinely confused because nothing short of a miracle could've saved her. Unless there was Compa or Medic near her body, with their Medi-Guns ready, Falcom should have no chance of surviving her injury. She was feeling skeptical, but something told her she shouldn't be...

Samuel just shrugged and exclaimed. "I'm confused as well! This is one of the things I wanted to check while you're here. How the fuck are you still alive?"

"And how do you want to check that?" She asked.

And Samuel stopped dead in his tracks. He had visible trouble saying something, looking from left to right, trying to avoid Falcom's gaze altogether. He was scratching his face, and Falcom could all but see him thinking hard on something.

Hell, she could even call him nervous right now.

After a moment of silence, Samuel's mind just said 'Fuck it.' "Just to clarify, I am not trying to be perverted, hit on you or anything of the sort. I already have a girlfriend and I love her dearly, so I'm not interested in you. But I need you to trust me on this."

This clarification set off so many red flags that Falcom didn't even know what to expect. There were just so many things wrong in what he just said. Why did he even say this to her? "Okay?" Why did Falcom even dignify that with an answer?

"I need to-" Samuel paused and reconsidered, "Actually, I think I should just explain it a bit more. In order to check your current state and determine how you survived, I need to place my hand over your heart." Samuel explained, to which Falcom stared at him blankly. That doesn't sound so- Wait, over her heart would be…

"I also require skin contact." Samuel continued. Falcom stared harder.

There was a moment of awkward silence.

"...You're not touching my boobs." Falcom shielded her bosom with her hand. In the few minutes since she's met him, he's creeped her out, made fun of her, turned her into Nepgear for a joke, and now he wants to grope her? Seriously?

Samuel facepalmed, dismayed that his explanation was disregarded and his actions simplified to such perversity, but he supposed it was understandable. "Yes, I understand that you're not happy about this-"

"You're _not_ touching my boobs."

"-but as I said, it's the only way for me, and you, to know what happened, please don't mistake this for something it's not. Blame Magnavox for this, not me, she's the one who designed it like this."

Falcom gave him a dirty look, shying away and covering herself with her arms even more. "How do I know you're not just making up an excuse to grope me? You haven't exactly been giving me a good impression you know."

"The only evidence I can provide will be after my inspection. Please, I understand this conversation didn't progress as well as I hoped, but can you at least give me a chance to prove myself here?"

"Nope, not if it means letting you sexually harass me." Falcom firmly shook her head.

Samuel placed his hands on his hips and sighed. "Well then. I'm afraid you're not giving me much of a choice."

Falcom had no idea what he meant by that, but she knew those words couldn't mean anything good for her. She looked at her hip to check if she had Eyelander, but the sword hadn't traveled with her...

Her own fists against the self-proclaimed 'Overseer of NEO Hyper Dimension' then, whatever that is. Considering the kind of reality bending power the man has shown thus far, she's not liking her odds, but she'll damn well try.

As Falcom braced to defend herself, Samuel looked right into her eyes. His brown, ugly eyes were hard to look at but this time Falcom didn't falter. Not until he said his next sentence.

"Allow me to check on you."

Falcom felt no changes, but when Samuel took a few steps towards her, she realized that something was very, very wrong with her. She tried to move away from him, but this… wasn't what she wanted? What? "W-What did you do?" She asked in confusion. Her emotions and body were betraying her, she didn't know what to feel about him. She wanted to be disgusted about this creep but she couldn't muster up anything but indifference, as if she didn't care anymore despite knowing she should.

What did he do? These aren't her emotions, but at the same time, they feel like they are. It wasn't anything like when she used Eyelander. She could recognize what thoughts were hers and what was not, but now she's just confused.

"I may be a human, but one tends to learn a few tricks when working for the True Goddess." He explained. "I changed the way you feel about me so I can proceed. I'm sorry, but this IS for your own good."

Falcom managed to bring herself to glare at him while he slipped his hand underneath her tank top. She couldn't even bring herself to resist because of whatever the pervert did. She wanted him away from her, but she didn't care enough to move. Is this what he meant by changing her feelings, this lethargy that made it so hard to care?

At least Samuel wasn't doing anything funny. He didn't try to cop a feel, his hand wasn't squeezing, it didn't move at all. His hand was just placed there, like a doctor feeling for a heartbeat. Maybe he wasn't lying after all? Though that didn't make it any more comfortable to have a stranger touch her chest.

"Alright, fine. So if I'm not dead, and this isn't the afterlife, then where are we?" Falcom asked, just so she could think about something other than being pseudo-mind controlled into letting herself get groped. Plus, she was genuinely curious about that question from the start.

"We are in…" Samuel trailed off, turning his gaze upwards as he tried to think of an answer. "I guess you could call it the True Celestia."

"Celestia? Like the world above Gamindustri where only Goddesses can go?"

"In a sense, though that'd be a normal Celestia. The True Celestia is a place where only the True Goddess and her servants can go. And obviously people they summon. It's also a place between dimensions, so that makes it even harder to get here."

A place between dimensions huh? She got it, but she didn't got it. Falcom at least understood that this was the home of the True Goddess, the first CPU to be created. Falcom doesn't know how much truth there was in his words, but so far he's shown some pretty bizarre powers, and has been fittingly confusing for some kind of holy emissary between dimensions. Though she wouldn't have expected an agent of the True Goddess to be so… ugly, or awkward, or perverted. Speaking of which...

"Hey, how much longer do you have to-"

"Done. Good news, I found the reason why you're still alive. Bad news, it's a very bad reason."

Well, that was timely. Samuel took his hand away, and the adventurer jumped at the chance to finally separate herself from him, her motivation to resist returned, even if it was far too late. She fixed her tank top and turned away from him, face flushed as she was allowed embarrassment once more. "So what's the reason then?"

Yet another pause, as Samuel took his time to consider how best to explain, snapping his fingers. He liked taking his time to answer things, especially for dramatic effect, and it was pissing off an already irritated Falcom. Still, answer he did.

"Let me put it this way. I don't think Hilda wanted to kill you to begin with, or at least she didn't want to damage your body too much. This would explain why she didn't decapitate you that time."

She didn't want to kill her? But Gehaburn was out for Falcom's blood back there, she even impaled Falcom right at the end. What could Gehaburn want except killing her?

"I can see you're confused, let me continue." Samuel commented. "And by the way, as long as you're here, I can read your thoughts. You're in my part of the house." The overseer shrugged, shocking Falcom even more.

Well that's just peachy. It's not like she wanted some privacy…

Samuel laughed, but he quickly disguised that as a cough.

"What Gehaburn probably wanted... was to weaken you into a state of near-death so she could… er... integrate herself into your soul and body, which mended you in the process. On the bright side, if you've ever been bothered by not having a last name, you can call yourself Falcom Gehaburn now."

* * *

Falcom Gehaburn.

Falcom Gehaburn.

Falcom Gehaburn.

Falcom _ **Gehaburn.**_

Falcom could feel her brain shut down right there and then. What the fuck did he mean Falcom Gehaburn?!

"What?" The redheaded adventurer asked calmly, almost too calmly. It's like she freaked out so hard she flipped back into calmness. Except there was this impending sense of doom in her stomach, Falcom didn't know when it appeared but it wasn't there when she arrived here.

And it's just occurred to her. That's why she felt like the spirit forced something into her throat when she was dying. That burning thing deep in her throat, Gehaburn was forcing herself down her throat as Falcom was dying.

"There's no need to tax your brain, let me explain further." Samuel sighed and shook his head. "Think of her as the spirit of Duke Eyelander, and you as the sword. It's a good deal more complicated than that of course, but that is the nature of it. She cut you down and then used her own essence to revive you, possessing you in the process, so you could take her for a ride. Or maybe even take you as her ride."

She didn't like how he phrased the last part, and she still wasn't over the previous revelation. After all, a malevolent spirit who hates CPUs is inside her. Who would not freak out? "C-Can you fix this? Like take her out of my body or something?" Fuck him being a pervert, she doesn't like when ghosts try to possess her without her consent.

Silence was her answer, yet another agonizing pause as Samuel pondered how he should answer her. "Yes… in theory." He slowly began. "But I don't trust myself to keep you alive during the procedure. I'm just not skilled enough."

"You. Are. A. God! How are you not skilled enough?!" Falcom cried out.

"I. Am. A. Human." Samuel retorted, mocking her with a similar tone. "I can and will fuck up, and there are things I don't know. Hell, even my knowledge about Gamindustri is entirely second-hand!" Feeling frustrated, he threw his hands in the air. He's just an empowered man with a connection to the creator of all of those dimensions, is it so hard for other people to stop calling him a god?

So she can't get Gehaburn out without dying, and Falcom had no interest in dying for real. "So, what do I do now?" The adventurer asked. There was a lot she still didn't understand, but common sense told her that being paired up with a ghost who hates goddesses is a bad thing when she's on the goddesses' side, a very powerful ghost at that. She doesn't know exactly how bad it is, but it should be pretty high on the list, and bad things need to be dealt with. She just had no idea how.

"Huh?"

"I have a malevolent ghost stuck inside me. We have to do something about it, right?"

"Yes, absolutely." Samuel nodded. "With her inside you, the dimension is just a few steps away from going Conquest route. Which is a very bad thing."

"Conquest? What Conquest?" Falcom blinked, she didn't like this word.

"A word you'll hear often if things DO get bad, but right now we can still save it… and I have just the trick!" And then he got an idea, an idea so crazy and stupid that it just might work. Samuel looked towards Falcom as if he just found the answer to everything, which actually filled her with some hope. "Yes. Why the hell did I not think of that!" Samuel clawed his face, the answer was so simple and yet he didn't realize it until now.

"What is it? You got a plan?"

"You bet I do!" Samuel pointed at the adventurer. "We could simply seal her within you, put her to sleep or stasis or something like that. She'll still be there, but it would buy us some time to think of a better solution at least. Or maybe just call Magnavox for help, if she isn't busy creating yet another dimension."

"Who's Magnavox?" Falcom frowned. She recalled that someone (Angela probably) said something about her, but Falcom couldn't remember any details. "I think I heard Angela say something about her, but I'm not sure..."

"I'll explain, but first I need your chest again."

Falcom's hand twitched, she wasn't eager to have her chest groped again, but Samuel had indeed proven himself trustworthy, and if she had to choose between dealing with a malevolent spirit herself or getting touched one more time, then the answer was obvious. Plus, he might end up doing the emotional control thing again if she resisted which would be even worse. (Very) reluctantly, Falcom let him reach out, and as his rough hand yet again slipped under her clothes, Falcom just realized something.

Why DID she consider him trustworthy anyway? Not even about the magical groping but about everything. Here was this weirdo who showed up out of nowhere, who looks like a bad guy and makes controversial demands, claiming to be some kind of Overseer and her guardian angel, talking about other dimensions and a True Celestia. And yet, she was taking every word coming out of him as fact.

This must be another one of his tricks… Or not? Maybe?

...Hey, asshole. Get out of my head.

"You know, I'm not reading your mind voluntarily. As a master of this place, I get information on every person I look at. You included." The 'overseer' explained, proving again that he can literally read minds. "I understand that you don't trust me, and that I sound suspicious. But frankly I'm actually glad, that means you can think on your own. And if you think that me being good to you out of my free will is off-putting, I'll tell you that this will help me as well."

Falcom went poker-faced and stared at him, wondering about how freeing her of Gehaburn's hold would help him. "Oh? And how would it help you?" She raised her eyebrow.

Samuel gave her a half-smile and avoided the question with "This topic we'll discuss a bit later." before falling silent. Focusing on whatever he was doing with her boob. This time Falcom felt something happening within her. A weird tingling feeling deep in her body, as if something was poking around her innards but there wasn't any pain. Just a strange itch that Falcom didn't know whether to call a good or bad feeling.

But she knew that this was Samuel's doing, if the magic glyph on his hand didn't already give it away.

"Magnavox is basically the True Goddess, that's her real name." Samuel suddenly explained, catching Falcom's attention. "From what I read, she was the first CPU to be created and then people just… forgot about her for whatever reason."

"You don't know why?"

"Nope, sorry. It wasn't in any of the books I studied, and she doesn't remember neither." He shrugged and continued working, but Falcom wasn't satisfied with what he gave her.

"How did you even get to work for her?" She asked. A self-proclaimed mortal working under an immortal creator of worlds. That should be a great story to tell.

If Samuel Neikan could actually tell this story.

"I can't tell you, really. I'm physically unable to tell you."

"Huh? Why?" How can someone be 'physically unable' to tell something? His speech, even though a little funny on the accent, doesn't seem to be impaired. And he looks healthy too, so Falcom was completely clueless about his reason.

"% $#!##." He said some completely foreign word, it sounded like a bunch of gibberish to the adventurer, but Samuel quickly explained what that was. "This is what happens when I try to talk about something I just can't, it becomes censored into gibberish. And with this seal in place, should you try to talk about this place to anyone later, the same will happen for you."

Falcom's jaw tightened from shock. Samuel didn't warn her about that. "And why didn't you tell me about that?"

"I just forgot that was a thing until you asked." The redhead stared at him blankly. This guy just said he forgot a very crucial detail about something that could potentially change Falcom's life. She was preparing herself to snap at him, but Samuel was quicker to the punch. "And before you ask, the only other option is killing you. But I dunno what Gehaburn will do if you die so... I'm done."

His hand left her bosom and Falcom began readjusting her clothes once more, still feeling mad about him keeping the knowledge of this side-effect away from her. She glared at him and asked something she should've asked first. "So, what else will this seal do?"

"Well…" He began counting on his fingers. "It should stop Gehaburn from taking control over your brain. It will make you unable to talk about our meeting here, and it also has the neat effect of encrypting your mind, so now no one, including me, can read your thoughts or look into your memories."

So now he won't be able to read her thoughts? That's some good news at least, she can finally have her privacy back.

Unless he was lying and this is a trap to read her more personal thoughts...

"And I also allowed myself to give you a small reward for freeing Blanc." He smiled and observed Falcom's reaction, who was intrigued by this 'small reward'.

"Oh, yeah? What did you do?"

"Until now I had no idea what to give you, but you seemed interested in those Wraith Manifestations, so now you can conjure them yourself. It maybe doesn't seem like much, but having an ability to look into past events opens up a lot of intelligence-gathering possibilities. Actually, your adventure inside the LAN Castle gave me new things to look into."

"So now I can see Wraiths anywhere in the world, right?"

"Yes. If you want to see them, they should appear."

Being able to Manifest Wraiths anywhere could be a powerful thing, it just depended how Falcom would use it. This wasn't a type of power that'd normally suit someone who relies on strength, it required ingenuity and wisdom to use it effectively. But as some say, information is power, so Samuel gave her the ability to collect all kinds of information. He hoped she'd figure out how to use it.

"And with that out of the way, we can finally proceed to why I really called you here."

Ah, that's right. Falcom recalled that her mysterious survival was only one of his reasons to summon her here, so that meant there were a few other reasons. "Ah yes, you said that you had more reasons to call me here. So what are they?"

"I just wanted to congratulate you on your good work, and to apologize for my MAJOR screw up."

* * *

Falcom's already confusing day took another unexpected turn.

Samuel was on his knees, with his forehead touching the ground, and awkwardly standing over him was the redhead adventurer.

"I am deeply sorry for everything that transpired. Gehaburn wouldn't have inhabited your body if it wasn't for my lack of foresight; thousands of people wouldn't die if I hadn't opened the connection between two worlds and let the mercenaries into Gamindustri. There wouldn't be a shitstorm brewing in Planeptune if it wasn't for my actions. Please, forgive me." He said in an apologetic voice… almost as if he rehearsed it a couple of times before.

"...Okay?" Having a god bowing to her wasn't on Falcom's bucket list. The adventurer wasn't sure how she should respond towards that. Part of the reason was her being confused over some things he said. What shitstorm brewing in Planeptune? What connection between two worlds? And what did he mean by letting the mercenaries into Gamindustri? Wasn't that Engineer's fault?

"I have no idea what you're talking about. What's happening in Planeptune? What worlds? I am so confused right now…"

Samuel raised his head from the dirt and dusted off his pants. "Hmm. Perhaps I should start explaining things." He said as a small, white table with 2 similarly colored chairs arose from the ground. Falcom took one of said chairs and sat down.

"Yeah, please do."

Samuel also sat down, and ran his hand through his hair. "Let me start with this: I am the reason why the mercs, and by extension the other people from their world, has appeared in Gamindustri."

Falcom took that quite well and calmly responded with "Okay, but wasn't it just Engineer making a mistake with his teleporter?"

"Yes. That's what all of you know." Samuel countered, raising his finger. "But think about it; who gave Engineer the blueprints for this teleporter? Who broke the rules of physics and connected both universes together? Who manipulated you all from the shadows, making you act as I please?"

"...You?"

"Yes. Me." He nodded and propped his chin on his fist. "Scout spilling his drink wasn't an accident."

"Alright then, if that's the case, why did you do that? Why send someone as dangerous as those mercs here?" Falcom asked, not entirely convinced yet. If it wasn't an accident, then there must have been a motive, right?

Samuel scratched his lower jaw, debating whether or not he should really tell her, but decided this was the time for truth. "Actually, those guys were a plan B. My plan A was to go myself… but without my partner and support I would just die on Day 1." He shrugged. "So I pulled some strings, made a few deals, went into a few other places and sent the mercenaries here instead."

"But why exactly?" Falcom inquired. "What were you trying to accomplish by sending someone?"

"I needed to enter some new elements into the world to change its course." Samuel admitted, raising his shoulder in half shrug. "And change it I did, but look where it's gotten us. Yes, the ASIC is losing control in Planeptune, but the civilians are getting afraid. You girls saved 1 goddess, but you also left yourself open for a checkmate."

Falcom gulped. Was it that bad out there? Falcom didn't exactly bother to check public opinion, she always assumed Histoire had that covered. She wouldn't let the mercs do their thing without thinking of the consequences, right?

Right?

"Can't you just, like… make them all happy and forgive Histoire for doing it?" The adventurer suggested. He did something like that to her, doesn't that mean he could do it to everyone else?

But the way his expression changed made her rethink that statement. Just by looking at him Falcom could feel like he's trying to figure out how to get out of this one. "Wow." He laughed pathetically. "You got me there."

"So can you?"

"No." He responded bluntly.

"Why not? You seemed to have the powers to do that."

"Because I could only do that here, in my domain." He tapped his finger on the table. "I'm not that strong outside of this place. If I tried that with you back in Gamindustri it wouldn't have worked, simply because you were dead-set on not letting me… _help_."

"You wanted to grope my chest." Falcom corrected, deadpanning. "I'm still mad about that." She huffed, crossed her arms and looked away.

"You're still not going to change your mind I see." The overseer shrugged, "I'm sorry about having to do that, but it was either I take a hit to my reputation or you going Conquest route. The former is nothing by comparison."

"I still don't understand what this Conquest is…" Falcom rubbed her forehead, still confused about this term.

"And you don't need to know."

"Right."

And the conversation died down, only silence remained between them, silence to make Falcom think. A lot's happened, from her supposed death to waking up in this strange place and meeting this bizarre man. How much time has it been since she's been stabbed by Gehaburn, much less left Planeptune?

"For how long are you going to keep me here? If I'm alive, then I want to go back to the others, if you don't mind." This was her strangest adventure yet, she ought to record it in her journal. It should make quite a selling...

And now Falcom tried to predict how many people would dismiss this place as bullshit or fantasy, probably quite a lot of people. Herself included. The redhead gave a short and quiet chuckle. She can already see the bad reviews coming from angry folks. That is, assuming she can even write about this place, considering the enchantment Samuel had placed on her. And there goes her brief moment of cheer.

"Ah, of course. Not for long, but I still need you here. Don't worry though, time doesn't flow the same here, so no time has passed at all for you back in Gamindustri."

"...Oh." Well that was convenient. That meant they can take their time and Falcom didn't need to worry too much.

"Continuing our previous topic. I can't do it, I can't make them wake up one day and think 'I'm gonna become a hero now!'" Samuel said that while posing, then he sat back and continued. "Still, I can make some small influences. If they're choosing between buying pizza or vegetables, I can make them pick vegetables for example, but that's only because they aren't sure themselves. If they were set on getting pizza, they will get their pizza and I can't do shit about it... You see where I'm going?"

"Yes." Falcom nodded. In other words, if people hated Nepgear and were sure of it, then Samuel can't do anything to make them like Nepgear. He could turn the few people that aren't sure yet, but he would be completely useless against the convinced masses.

"Indirectly changing events has proven to only make things worse. What I need is a more direct approach." He frowned and looked right into Falcom's eyes, said orange eyes quickly avoided his gaze.

"Why do you even change to events? Does something horrible happen for us in the future?" From the way things look right now, Falcom could see a lot of things that could end in a world changing disaster. The people of Planeptune for one, Gehaburn inside her for another. The ASIC, the mercenaries, their Re:Spawn System, they've shaken the very foundation of their world. They're on a tightrope line here.

"No no. Things were actually looking peaceful at the end… _originally_." He stretched his neck, silently saying that this was not the case anymore. "My reason for this is my deal with Magnavox. I won't say any details, but it's related to why and how I'm working with her."

"What's the deal?"

"Not gonna tell you, I just said."

Short and straightforward. Ouch.

"You did good stopping Angela from getting the Gehaburn. That's where I realized just how much I screwed up." Samuel changed the topic. Falcom just remembered about the practitioner of Dark magic. Where did she disappear to anyway?

"I have a question. What happened to Angela? She literally disappeared right before my eyes. ...Was that you?" Falcom was talking with Angela, and then the magician was taken away by a bolt of lighting. It was instant and without warning. Did Samuel also have a hand in this? Was he the third party that healed her broken neck?

"...I didn't want her dead, so I moved her. We talked a little and then I sent her back to Planeptune." Samuel leaned back on his chair, and Falcom looked at him. "What?"

"You sure are _powerless_ back in the real world." Falcom deadpanned, sarcasm dripping from her mouth. But she was glad too. She didn't hate Angela, even if the Magician tried to kill her, Falcom just couldn't bring herself to hate her. Pity was all she felt towards her, life had given her a bad hand.

"I use my powers when it's needed and… well. I completely ruined her life." The brunette rubbed his forehead. He was feeling tired. "Her story helped me realize just how many my actions have affected, in all the wrong ways. I need help, Falcom." He declared, looking at the redhead in front of her.

His work screwed over countless families, he brought extremely bloodthirsty mercenaries into Gamindustri and even brought Gray Mann's little war there. He created Angela by indirectly killing her parents, her sister and even her boyfriend, and like a cherry on top, Histoire was breaking down because of him and Nepgear was in danger.

He fucked his dimension sideways.

And by his employer, the True Goddess, he's going to unfuck that sorry excuse of a dimension.

"Every time I try to change things from here, I make things worse. I need help from someone who is in a position to change things _directly_."

"..."

Falcom could say no. She could just tell him to find someone else and send her away. Then she would be free to forget all of this happened. He was shady even before he tried to grab her chest, and there were so many mysteries surrounding him and his unbelievable claims. Both of them just met, and he was already begging so much from her. Logic told her that she shouldn't trust a word he was saying, nor did she owe him a thing. But if this was all an act, then it has to be the most elaborate act she's ever seen.

"...Fine. What do you want me to do?"

As sketchy as the self-proclaimed Overseer was, she couldn't deny the world was in danger. Assuming that this man really was a god, or at least the emissary of one, then this was her chance to save not just her friends, but possibly all of Gamindustri. Falcom just couldn't walk away from that.

After she voiced her answer Falcom saw something in him. He had this look on his face, underneath his ugly gaze there was something telling her that he had it all figured out.

* * *

"We can ignore changing the way the mercenaries work. It was the cause of all of those problems, but Blanc already has it covered." Samuel stated, walking from side to side. There was a pointer stick in his hand, and an empty blackboard behind him.

"She does? Wow." Falcom breathed out. The Lowee's CPU was unconscious when Falcom disappeared with Hale, when had she even woken up? What happened when she woke up? Was the CPU so pissed off about being captured that she took the reins herself?

"Yes." He nodded. "While you were unconscious, Rom and Ram woke up Blanc, and now Planeptune and Lowee are in alliance under Blanc's leadership. We can leave reforming the mercs to her while we focus on other matters. Like gathering mascots."

"..."

Falcom listened from the comfortabless of her chair, while Samuel stopped and turned towards her. The redhead gulped at his gaze, she just couldn't bring herself to look at it but he still glared at her.

Then he sighed.

"I have no idea how the hell you did this, but you guys did it." His voice, despite sounding funny, was thick with disappointed. "You were so close to getting Planeptune's mascot, so close. Some of you were even there, and not just once! You were a few freaking meters away from the mascot and you still passed right by her!" Samuel felt irritated by just thinking about this, but he blew out his cheeks. "Goddamn Sniper even FOUND it, and he could've taken it home but nooo, he had to ignore it because his _precious_ stupid Fenrirs were more important." The overseer was wheezing from anger. All of them were so close to getting the mascot, and every time they miraculously passed by and walked away. Just watching them was infuriating as fuck, and he finally had to let it out.

"So when you leave, just take this map and go get it. Although it's too late by now and the Mascot is destroyed." He took out a parchment that he got from… somewhere and laid it on the table in front of Falcom, who was currently surprised by his casual reveal.

"The Planeptune's Mascot is destroyed?!" She cried out.

"Damaged, I should've said." Samuel corrected. "A green haired girl with gray skin shattered the disc with her pipe. We can fix this pretty easily though, so that's not a big deal. But what matters is that Nepgear gets the power of the Mascots, not Blanc, not Rom or Ram, no other CPU. Just Nepgear."

"Okay, any reason why?" Falcom's eyebrows fell down into a frown. Why Nepgear specifically?

"Because originally, Nepgear took those powers so we're going to follow that. I dunno what will happen if someone else takes them and at this point I don't want to experiment." Samuel answered as he started writing on the chalkboard… with his own finger, but somehow (probably thanks to his godly bullshit magic) a white trail followed his lead. The text read: '1. Get all of the Mascots and use them on Nepgear.'

"The next part may sound obvious, but I still think I should put it here." He pointed his stick at the second part of their plan. '2. Don't let Planeptune, or any other nation fall.' "We need all CPUs to win. If one nation gets 0 Shares, it's game over for all of us. We can all just give up and chill until Arfoire arrives, there's no victory after that."

"Yikes." Falcom's commented. She checked the Shares before Nepgear and mercs went to fight the ASIC, and no nation had more than 7%. One catastrophe and something will fall, something like Planeptune.

"Yes. Funnily enough the ASIC is too weak to stand against the mercs, but there are other ways for them to win, and depriving any nation of Shares is one of them. And frankly I think this is the route that the ASIC is going to take." Samuel stopped to think for a moment, and one thought occured to him. Histoire just gave herself and her nation on a silver tray thanks to the mercs, so why haven't the ASIC acted on it yet? It's so weird...

"You think so?" Falcom asked. She was also worried what the ASIC was going to do, they returned Blanc but why did they do it? She didn't think they're surrendering, the ASIC must be planning something… "Do you know why the ASIC challenged us and gave us Blanc?"

"...No. And it creeps me out. Maybe it was a bad idea to take their challenge, but so far it seemed beneficial to us. They did have a reason to release her, but I can't figure out what." Samuel didn't have a clue what it might be, it was too irrational to just give up a MacGuffin to the enemy side without wanting anything.

The ASIC must have done something, but Samuel couldn't think of anything. Was there a traitor in higher ranks? A sabotage? They would've contacted Histoire or someone else a long time ago.

"Ignoring that one for now..." They would go nowhere if he spent all his time debating on this small detail. Maybe the ASIC did that just to confuse them? "The ASIC is planning to hold a public memorial for all of their people that died. Not sure if they want to go somewhere with it or it's just a ploy to take people's sympathy, but there is one detail that took my attention."

"And that is?" A memorial sounded just like what the old ASIC would do, they were all sympathetic towards everyone and brought aid for the poor and needy. But that turned out to be a facade of course… so why go back to their roots now? Certainly not to pay their respects.

"You see, they sent out a special invitation to Nepgear, and Blanc as well. _On the very same day Blanc just woke up_. How did they know that Blanc was up and working?" Samuel asked. Falcom was just confused, why would something like that matter? "There are two possibilities: First, they didn't know that she would have woken up today, but they predicted it thanks to Rom and Ram arriving to Planeptune." That was the better scenario. Someone as smart as CFW Magic would easily predict that the Lowee Oracle and the Candidates would've arrived with Sharicite for Blanc.

Was this what CFW Magic wanted? A defenseless Lowee while they're busy reviving their Leader?

Focus on other things.

But make a mental note of this.

"And the other one?"

"The second possibility… is that there's a leak in Histoire's ranks. A spy feeding them intel." This one would be a disaster, because not even he knows for how long they've been active, nor what the ASIC learned through him. It could potentially throw a wrench in his plans.

Falcom paled, she never suspected someone of being a traitor. "S-Someone in the Basilicom siding with the ASIC? S-surely not…" She couldn't suspect her friends and the man in front of her sympathized with that, but reality was a cruel mistress.

"It is a possibility. But let's just hope that they were clever enough to read Histoire's moves."

Although a clever person would plant a spy or two to keep tabs on their enemy…

"Anyway, moving on." He tapped his pointer against the chalkboard, catching Falcom's attention once more. "Following Blanc's idea. We can ignore any grunts of the ASIC; if they want to fight then knock them out, but don't bother to fight if you don't need to. However." He wrote the third part of their plan: '3. Kill all CFWs.' "All of their leaders need to die. Not injured, not imprisoned, but completely, permanently destroyed. The Deity of Sin only needs one of them alive to be revived, so killing all the CFWs is the only way to make sure that doesn't happen."

Although the tropes told Samuel that no matter what he'll do, Arfoire is going to be revived and they'll have to kick her ass.

And considering how hard it was to bring down the Judge, it's not going to be easy beating the rest of the CFWs. Good thing they have the Re:Spawn System… and Saxton Hale. He would probably be eager to beat their skulls in, if only for some challenge.

"It's not going to be easy, right?" Falcom asked and then laughed when Samuel just shook his head.

"Nope. Hale might've beaten Judge with ease, but the rest won't be so easy, especially Magic, and it's likely they'll wisen up and hide. And here's the fourth and last part… until I think up some more."

And the last part was… '4. Don't die, Falcom.'

"This one is obvious, but I'm still putting that in." He said as he turned around, his ugly gaze fixed on her. "Seriously, don't die. Don't even Re:Spawn. If Medic offers you to even get those bionic upgrades, you refuse because this stuff will remove your Plot Armor." This was one of the most bullshit reason Falcom has ever heard, but she was genre savvy enough to recognize his point. Just read any story that has some kind of way of preventing permanent death.

While Falcom rolled her eyes, Samuel continued. "I'm not sure how Gehaburn will react to you dying, but I'm sure as hell she won't be happy about it. Let's not find out what happens if you kick the bucket."

Falcom took all of this info with a nod. "Get all Mascots to Nepgear, don't let any nations collapse, kill all CFWs and don't die. Got it. Anything else?"

"..." Samuel thought back on their conversation. He found out the reason for her survival, he stalled the possible world-ending catastrophe, and he got Falcom to work for him and-

Holy shit, Histoire would chew him up for this.

He can live through that… what else? What else? He remembered that there was something else he wanted from her…

Oh right.

"Here, give this book to IF." Samuel gave her the copy that he got from the librarian fairy, creeping out Falcom once more. She didn't see him reaching out for his pockets, this book just appeared out of thin air.

"What is it?" Nonetheless, the redhead took the book and examined it. It was thin and had a red, thick cover, there was also golden flame in the middle of it. She tried to pry it open, but it was sealed shut. "It's my gift for IF. You got the Wraith Manifestation, Nepgear is going to have her Mascots and she'll get this."

He left out someone and Falcom pointed that out. "And Compa? The mercs?"

"...I have absolutely no idea what to give her. But let her know that she'll get something cool if I find something appropriate. And mercs… are already overpowered enough in this world, they don't need any more stuff." He said, chewing on his nail. Meanwhile Falcom idly pondered on possible power ups for her nurse friend.

Compa wasn't a fighter, but she would appreciate something to support others. The first thing that popped into Falcom's mind was healing, but Compa already has it in the form of magic and the Medi-Gun. Maybe something to protect herself and others from harm? But the Medi-Gun comes with the built-in Electro-Shield. Something to bring them back from death on the spot?

Again, Medi-Gun kinda does that already…

Empower everyone around her?

...Didn't Medi-Gun already have Overheal? A de facto 'Buff' as mercs sometimes called it?

Sheesh, no wonders he has no idea what to give Compa...

"Okay." Her pockets were too small for the book, she'll just have to hold it in her hands.

"You want a bag?"

...Or she could take Samuel's offer and get a small plastic bag, something that you would find in every convenience store. It wasn't anything great, but at least she had somewhere to stash IF's gift.

This kinda seemed like… it, unless there was something more he wanted from her. But he didn't.

"So… this is it Falcom. Thank you for helping me." The overseer reached out for a handshake, which Falcom stared at for a moment.

This day has frankly been an emotional rollercoaster for Falcom. She saw the ghosts of a forgotten history, befriended and fought a broken Dark Magician, (nearly) died fighting a malevolent spirit and now she's agreed to help a self-proclaimed agent of the True Goddess save the world from ASIC.

All in 8 chapters.

"...Anything to save the world." Falcom turned her face away and shook his hand. But when she was about to let go, Samuel came closer to her and whispered in her ear.

"Word of advice: Be prepared to feel like shit, and don't be surprised by your change in appearance."

"Huh?" Before Falcom registered his meaning, she doubled over in pain. She already felt like shit and all she could see were Samuel's boots…

Then darkness overtook her vision.

* * *

There was a voice in the air. It was someone familiar to her… probably.

Where was she?

There was something wet underneath her. It felt sticky, and it smelled like metal.

The light was blinding her. Turn off the sun, someone.

Is she still with Samuel?

Who is Samuel?

...Wasn't he this weird guy with creepy eyes?

Ah, yes.

She heard the voice again, they were speaking to her. Was it Eyelander?

" _-com?"_

" _Falcom?_ "

"OOoough…" The adventurer groaned. Sounding more like after a heavy hangover than a near-death experience.

"You okay there, Woman?" The sword asked while Falcom just lay on the ground. Her brain was still collecting itself after everything that happened, and a lot of confusing stuff happened. She didn't even register the liquid underneath her.

And now Falcom just noticed it, this sticky and red liquid underneath her. Blood.

That's a lot of blood… and it's all hers.

"EEEH!?" The adventurer jerked upwards, putting her face as far as possible from the crimson liquid.

Bad bad bad bad that's a lot of bad! How much blood has she lost?!

The redhead jumped onto her feet, stepping away from the sizeable pool she slept on. It was big enough to cover her entire body, which would explain why her face, body and even hair were stained red.

Samuel said she was barely hanging there but what the hell?!

In a moment of panic, Falcom's breath quickened and her hands touched the spot where she was stabbed… and found no injury there.

"What happened to you?" Eyelander plainly asked, not knowing or not caring that Falcom was still freaking out over her being drenched in crimson.

That was a good reason to panic, right?

Falcom breathed in and out in a rapid pace, giving him no answer. Eyelander noticed that he won't get an answer when she's in this state, so he opted to just wait it out. But he was still confused what happened to her and the Gehaburn.

The adventurer put her arm to her chest and gradually calmed herself, she was alive and not dying, that's all that mattered.

"Have you calmed down?" The ghost asked once he saw Falcom not freaking out. This woman was a pain in the ass sometimes, but this time it was understandable.

"Y-Yeah." She nodded and collapsed on her butt. Her memories were coming back all at once, but all she focused on was finding IF's book. Eyelander decided not to question Falcom's head turning everywhere, as he disregarded it as her still being confused.

"Well, I'm gonna ask this again. What happened to you?"

Falcom spotted the bag lying by the hedges, next to the bench. Because the adventurer was busy scanning her surroundings, she didn't hear Eyelander talking to her which irritated him.

"Hey! You hear me?"

"Huh?" The adventurer perked up, and the ghost sighed tiredly.

"What happened to you? Whatever Gehaburn did to you, it changed your appearance. Wash yourself first though."

Subconsciously Falcom touched her cheek to see if anything changed. She didn't feel anything different there but that one should be obvious, although not knowing how she looked unnerved her. Why was she so calm about this? Because Samuel warned her beforehand? Because she hasn't seen the changes yet? Her body was covered in her own blood, so Falcom couldn't see anything different.

But oh the goodness, how much blood has she lost?

Turning a little pale, Falcom picked up the Eyelander and the plastic bag. The ghost, understandably, was confused by its content and how it got there. "What is this?" He questioned while the redhead picked up a scroll and read it. It was a map with directions on it, leading from the LAN Castle to some place in Virtua Forest.

"It's… well." Now Falcom realized how crazy it would be to say 'A god gave it to her.' What to do? What to do? Deploy an emergency cardboard box? "I-I just noticed it lying here. It seems to be a map." She put the scroll back into the bag.

"Go wash yourself first. You look like you murdered somebody and mutilated the body afterwards." Eyelander deadpanned.

Falcom gave herself another once-over and groaned. Her favorite adventuring outfit, completely ruined.

At least she could take a bath in the lake nearby…

* * *

After Falcom went back to Gamindustri, Samuel sighed heavily and collapsed onto the ground. The world turned back into its white void as the overseer rubbed his face with apathy. He ran out of energy to do anything else.

"God… dess." He murmured, remembering to use the female variant. A lot of crap happened and it has completely drained him. He wanted this to be over already, he wanted Fay to be here with him, but there's still so much to do. And it's not like they progressed that much.

They're like what? 1 CPU rescued and 1 CFW destroyed. Out of 4 each. There was also Arfoire at the end to kill and clean up after the ASIC collapse.

He sighed again, before wondering why he feels like such a tired old man.

At least now he has 2 people to help him, he won't need to pray for things to unfold the way he wanted. Samuel can now just send somebody to fix it before it snowballs into another problem.

The brunette got up and patted down his suit. "Alright, back to the library." Standing here moping won't fix anything, he still needed to act, and Falcom's recent exploits gave him an idea what to do with Arfoire. He just needed more info.

And what better place to start than the Time Library?

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **The Guardian Angel**

* * *

 **This chapter is over 10k words and it's just 2 characters talking, wtf me?**

 **The reason for this chapter is that I have noticed a lot of stories about interdimensional transportation lack a convincing reason for said transport. As my friend put it its "either no explanation at all, a Rob or local deity or just good old truck-senpai for reincarnation novels."**

 **(Which my fic kinda falls into it, huh.)**

 **Sooo… Yeah. Samuel Neikan is my reason for mercs to arrive to Gamindustri, why he did it will be explained later.**

 **And yes, Falcom is alive and kicking. I bet (at least some of you) saw it coming, but none of you should predict Gehaburn bonding with Falcom. Now this story has a Walking Conquest character.**

 **(Disclaimer: No actual Conquest has be done. Not yet at least.)**

 **Responses:**

 **\- kerrowe**

 **Yes, there are going to be consequences of their actions. It's not going to be pretty and I'll make sure of that.**

 **Also I don't think Heavy would care, he does his job and he gets paid. He has more important stuff to worry about than stranger's opinion towards him.**

 **\- Metastable**

 **Thank you for confidence booster, I guess? I'm straight male though.**

 **And when tf I underestimated Second Banana? In that scene Heavy was mad because Hale reminded him about his loss against Pyro, and Heavy doesn't like losing.**

 **\- FourElemental**

 **Nein? NEIN?!**

 **...There's a Nazi Germany joke there somewhere but… you know.**

 **\- Harmless Orange**


	31. A Change in Force

_If you think this chapter is forced… that's because it is._

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **A Change in Force**

* * *

On the day the twins and Mina brought back Blanc, the mercenaries allowed themselves to kick back and rest for the rest of the day. They all needed it and even Soldier agreed.

Especially when the first thing on the next day was Blanc gathering them all in the lobby.

She looked up to them, literally because of the height difference, and couldn't help but to feel disillusioned. What she expected was a group of battle-hardened veterans, people you could just see they're not to be messed with…

But what she saw was a ragtag bunch of misfits, actually it was amazing on it's own that a group like them can cause so much trouble. Then again, one of them can double jump while the other could turn invisible at any moment. Looks can be deceiving.

"So you're the guys that've been wreaking havoc on the ASIC." Blanc said as all 9 of them climbed down the stairs. The dark-skinned man took her attention, as he was reeking of alcohol and swaying, nearly- and he fell down and smashed his head against the table.

"Is he okay?" Blanc pointed at him, genuinely concerned about his health. Bless her for not knowing how sturdy the mercs are. Soldier walked up to the unconscious Demo, and gave him a strong kick to Demo's side.

"Demoman!"

The only response was a quiet snore of the scottish man.

"Affirmative, ma'am!" The american saluted. "Demoman is just drunk, please continue."

Blanc, not knowing how else she should respond, and the lack of Histoire didn't help the matter, decided to bite her nail. "This doesn't look comfortable, move him somewhere." Soldier saluted again and was about to carry his teammate upstairs, but Heavy volunteered for this duty instead, lifting the drunk Scot and… throwing him up the stairs like a sack of potatoes.

Somehow the merc's body bounced against the wall like a ball and landed in a comfortable position on a chair conveniently placed upstairs, but of course Blanc didn't know that. "Wha- I said move him not throw him! Are you sure he's okay after that?" The CPU asked in exasperation as Heavy casually dusted off his hands.

"Little CPU shouldn't worry about him, Demoman won't remember this."

Blanc's vein popped way before Heavy finished his sentence, but Sniper intervened before she could explode in rage. "So why did ya call us here, Sheila? I don't think that's only to show us you're fine and all."

The CPU nodded at his prediction and said "Yes. I just wanted to inform you that I'll be taking control over you."

"Eh, alright."

"Meh."

"Welcome aboard, Lady Blanc!"

The mercs took the info way easier and faster than Blanc expected. She raised her eyebrows in surprise as the group of mercenaries dispersed, each of them going off to do their own thing. "You knew that already?" Blanc asked the lone remaining person, Soldier.

"Yes, ma'am." He nodded. "Spy already informed us of a change in command yesterday. Good morning, Lady Blanc!"

His commander smiled at him. "Good morning, Soldier." Histoire was right when she said he responded well to established authority… now the girl wondered how far she could push it. "I see. Then I'll also inform you that we're changing how we're dealing with the ASIC from now on."

Engineer, who was working on the Sentry Gun behind the counter, stopped. "What?" He put down his wrench and looked at her, and so did the rest of the mercs. "Pardon me, ma'am. What did you say?"

"We're changing how we do things around here. I order you all to stop attacking and killing the ASIC."

The reactions were… varied. Engineer considered it for a moment, and went back to work with a "Depends on them, Lady Blanc." Sniper and Spy shrugged and dismissed her with "Whatever." and "I see."

Pyro and Scout weren't even listening from the start, Pyro was playing with a lighter while Scout made himself some breakfast. Medic and Heavy nodded in affirmation, although the doctor wondered how he's going to gather fresh corpses for his experiments from now on.

And Soldier…

"Wait. What?" He blinked in confusion. Did he misheard her? The American asked the Lowee's CPU to repeat herself and her eye twitched in irritation.

"I'm serious here, men." She growled. "Your senseless massacres have pissed off basically the entire public. Histoire is already afraid that they'll do something drastic, and the killing needs to stop."

"Pffft." Scout chuckled. "They should be grateful we're taking out their trash! Who would cry after them?"

"Oh, I dunno, maybe the thousands of families who've lost loved ones in one of your raids?" Blanc dryly countered, completely unamused by the Bostonian youth. "I believe some of them would be eager to rip you, and Nepgear and Histoire to shreds."

Engineer sighed and stood up, again placing his wrench onto the counter. "I dunno about you guys, but I'm with Lady Blanc on this one." He raised his hard hat and scratched his bald head. "It's one thing bein' hired to kill folks who respawn, but it's another to kill folks who stay dead. This many of 'em too."

The RED team took his words a bit more seriously than Blanc expected, something she was glad for.

Then Heavy stepped forward and argued. "But then why Miss Histoire didn't say so?" She never, ever told them that they're killing too many people. The mercs just thought they were doing good as long they're getting ASIC off Nepgear's back, and help her gather Shares from her people. They were oblivious to the unrest happening in Planeptune.

"Histoire's already considered it for a long time." Blanc explained. "Why she never did it, I don't know."

"She's our employer." Sniper grumbled. "What did she expect us to do? Blow her head off for tryin' to stop us? We're assassins, not crazed gunmen!"

Before someone else could say anything, Soldier flipped.

"AAAAAAH!" The american yelled, putting both of his hands under the table and flipping it upside down. "HOW AM I GONNA SPREAD FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY NOW?! AMERICA WAS FOUNDED TO PROTECT FREEDOM! NOT TO LET SCUM LIKE ASIC TAINT OUR GLORIOUS FLAG-!"

The rest of the mercs restrained Soldier while Blanc watched from nearby with confusion and shock. Soldier struggled against the combined strength of his teammates, but he was quickly knocked onto the ground and apprehended.

"YOU COMMUNISTS AND NAZIS CANNOT STOP ME, FOR I AM THE AMERICA-!" Scout took a nearby frying pan and bashed Soldier's face with it until he shut up. Blanc cringed at the violent display of force, and the loud clangs combined with Soldier's cries of pain didn't help it.

After a moment of bashing Soldier's skull in, Scout sighed and went to drop the bloodied pan into the sink, and Blanc finally snapped out of her shock to ask. "Is- Is he alright?"

The mercs looked back at the american, his face bloodied with at least a broken nose, with a strong chance of having a skull fracture. "No?" They shrugged.

"You guys are maniacs alright." The CPU muttered under her breath, then she pointed at Medic. "Medic. You can heal him, right?"

"Zont vorry Frau Blanc. Herr Soldier will just respawn in a few seconds." Medic smiled at her while Soldier's corpse faded out of existence. None of the mercs were bothered by it as they stood up and turned towards the CPU.

It was only then that Blanc realized Soldier wasn't just maimed, he was straight-up murdered, and the fact the rest of the blood-splattered mercs didn't care about it only intimidated her more, and few things intimidated the CPU of Lowee. Now she remembered their immortality and realized why this group was so dangerous, beyond the implants and special technology. _They have a completely different perception of death from everyone else._ If they're willing to beat their own comrade to death without any guilt nor hesitation just to shut him up, what care would they give to the lives of strangers, much less enemies?

Still, she tried to steady herself and maintain an air of authority. "...Well, whatever just happened, you're not to do that to other people. ASIC or not."

"Mpmh mh mmph mphmhpmh fhmph?"

Blanc frowned at Pyro's mumbling and turned to face him, speaking bluntly. "I don't understand what you're saying." Fortunately there was Engineer there to translate for her.

"Pyro said: 'What if they attack first?'"

Blanc stopped, surprised that someone actually understood Pyro's mumbling and because this was a good question. Of course, she already considered as much, the ASIC aren't some pacifistic organization protesting for reforms and signing petitions, confrontations are inevitable. "Then incapacitate them, make them unable to fight but don't kill them."

"How far we can go?" Spy questioned, making the CPU aware of a potential loophole. They could just turn someone into a living vegetable and it wouldn't fall under 'killing a person' because said victim was still alive, in the most technical sense of the word.

"No chopped off limbs or anything like that. Anything so they won't be able to fight, but nothing they can't recover from."

"Understood, madame Blanc." Spy nodded and then checked the time. "I'm sorry but I must go, my shift at ASIC is starting." The french turned invisible right after saying this, the doors behind Blanc mysteriously opening and closing on their own. Blanc watched this unfold with an unreadable expression. She wasn't used to people turning invisible on a dime.

"'scuse me, Miss Blanc." Sniper raised his hand and took Blanc's attention. "If we can't go around attackin' ASIC, then what are we supposed to do?"

"...Did you do any Guild missions before I woke up?"

"Да. We did a lot of them with Nepgear and others." Heavy nodded.

"Then do those. Just don't harm any human." Blanc shrugged. It wouldn't do any harm to let them kill monsters or fetch some items. No one cared about monsters.

"Alright, men. Now that we have that sorted out, do you have any question or can I go back to the Basilicom?" The mercs briefly looked at each other. Heated discussion happened outside of Blanc's knowledge thanks to their telepathic connection. All of this took only a single second, and after that the mercs collectively faced the CPU and said "Nah, we're good."

Blanc was now increasingly creeped out, but she still had to keep her facade of a strong leader. "I see, then I'll be going." She nodded and left in a hurry, but not too quickly as to give them the idea that she was scared. After she slammed the doors, Scout looked at the rest of his team.

"...No one told her Engie put a teleporter straight to the Basilicom?"

The mercs could only shrug, wondering the same thing.

* * *

Falcom silently stared at her reflection in the water.

Her hair and eyes weren't red and orange, not anymore. They were navy blue instead. Her appearance changed, just like Samuel warned her. It wasn't much, but it was very noticeable.

There was also a big scar on her stomach where Gehaburn had impaled her. Over the scar however was a bright blue tattoo, with circles and symbols unknown to her and Eyelander, though Histoire could know something. Was it Gehaburn's doing or was that the seal Samuel placed on her? It covered her entire stomach and even stretched around her back.

Because of that scar, Falcom has to consider getting a different outfit, something to cover the weird tattoos and the wound. Eyelander was silent while Falcom lost herself in her own reflection, fresh from the bath she took at the lake, her skin was clear of any blood but her clothes were not.

...Everyone would worry the moment they lay their eyes on her.

"Sooo…" The sword began, his first words ever since the adventurer came to the beach. "Do you know what happened to you?"

The malevolent spirit nearly killed her, so that she could meld herself with Falcom and take control of her, only to be sealed by the 'Overseer of NEO Hyper Dimension' who asked for her help. Perfectly normal and boring exploration of an old castle.

"I don't know." Falcom answered. The adventurer doubted that Eyelander would believe her. Hell, she hardly believed herself. "I woke up in a stran# ^ !#%-" The red, or now blue haired girl paused. Censorship.

* * *

" _It should stop Gehaburn from taking control over your brain. It will make you unable to talk about our meeting here, and it also has the neat effect of encrypting your mind, so now no one, including me, can read your thoughts or look into your memories."_

* * *

Falcom couldn't even tell him what happened.

"You woke up where?" Eyelander questioned, voice thick with confusion. "I didn't understood what you said there."

Falcom sighed and tried to wash some of the sand off her. The worst part of leaving the beach, sand always stuck to you no matter how hard you tried. "I don't know. I don't know what happened." The adventurer wiped the soles of her boots on some rocks.

"Uh-huh." The ghost didn't sound convinced. Both of them knew Falcom was bullshitting, but Eyelander didn't push it.

They would go back to Virtua Forest, find the Mascot, take it to the Basilicom and get some help from Histoire. Then they could find some more info on the Gehaburn, or Arfoire. And also Samuel...

Falcom paused, getting an urge to bash her head against the nearest tree.

She didn't ask him about the Histoire shown in the Wraith Manifestations, worse, she completely forgot to ask how she could contact him when she was done or needed help… This was one of the most important things and they just forgot about it.

"This day just couldn't get worse…" Falcom mumbled, and in a completely predictable and cliche manner, it began to rain. It didn't matter there were barely any clouds in the sky, it will always rain when someone says the magic words.

Falcom clicked her tongue and took the Eyelander, tying his sheath to her belt and marching into the forest. At least the rain will wash the sand off her.

As her feet carried her through the increasingly damp forest, Falcom remembered one more thing. No, not the book. She had it with herself, Falcom didn't know what it would do once it gets into IF's hands, but the adventurer was curious about it.

The adventurer remembered that Eyelander was Demoman's sword, and he would be _pretty pissed_ over her taking him. She did leave a note saying she'll get him something in exchange, right?

Let's just hope some cheap booze would be enough to make up the 2 day absence.

She would also need an explanation for why she was covered in blood, scarred and changed her hair color. The adventurer could tell them the truth, but there was a chance it would get censored as well. It's also so crazy that they might not even believe her, despite all the weirdness the mercenaries and Nepgear have been through.

Now that Falcom thought about it, maybe they would actually believe her. Would her adventure sound crazy by the mercenaries' standard?

She would have to wait and see.

* * *

"I know nothing about it!"

"We told you about it yesterday, mate."

"I don't know what you're talking about, sissy. What is yesterday?"

Medic and Engineer shared a look, wondering if their teammate just mispronounced his sentence or seriously didn't know what yesterday meant. Heavy just shook his head in disappointment, the others shouldn't be so surprised. They're talking to Soldier after all.

"Umm… good morning?"

Their argument was put on hold by the new voice, the mercs turned around to see Nepgear awkwardly standing on the stairs, with Ram and Rom.

"'Morning, Nepgear." Engineer greeted, and then he noticed the blue-clad twin, looking as if she was about to cry. "You alright there, girl? What happened." The texan crouched down and gently smiled, trying to make the kid open herself to him.

"I… tripped. When I left the teleporter." The candidate answered him, covering behind the Planeptunian candidate.

"Oh, valk it off." Medic rolled his eyes, getting a glare from the pink-clad twin.

"Rom, Ram, these are the men who saved your sister. Say hi."

A few of the REDs chuckled when both girls meekly greeted them. The kids were intimidated by the mercs, but then again what kid wouldn't be? Especially with Heavy in the room, towering above anyone else, and Soldier shouting his lungs out. Ram tried to act brave, but the mercs saw right through her, she wanted nothing more than to go back to her older sister's safety.

"What were you arguing about?" Nepgear asked, patting Rom's head to help her calm down.

"Soldier's turn to clean the toilets, and he doesn't wanna." Scout shrugged. Ram grimaced in disgust, sympathizing with Soldier's choice of not wanting to clean the lavatories. Yuck.

"Listen here, maggot." Soldier jabbed his finger into Scout's ribs, "Enlisted men don't clean toilets, it's not their responsibility. It's the responsibility of maggots, janitors and women! I refuse to do anything not-combat oriented."

Many were surprised when Soldier correctly used the word 'responsibility', but some of them were enraged by Soldier's sexism. Ram in particular was angered by Soldier and like a brave girl and CPU Candidate, the pink clad twin marched towards the mercenary with bravery Nepgear didn't know she had. The small child went undetected by the American, the rest of the mercs and Nepgear worriedly looked at one another, afraid of what will happen when Ram raised her foot...

...And sent a solid kick to Soldier's crotch.

His team silently gasped and their legs instinctively moved to protect their sole weakness. It was too late for Soldier though, the man just froze when Ram's boot collided with Soldier's body. "My… nuts." The merc dropped like a rock while Ram looked proud of herself.

"Ouch." Sniper said.

"Ram, don't do that!" Nepgear's eyes widened, the lilac haired candidate rushed to take Ram's hand and dragged her away from Soldier, afraid of the retailation the crazed man might do to her. The mercs offered no help as they were stunned by the Candidate's move, like the kick had some sort of area of effect.

"Hmph." Ram scoffed and wrested herself free from Nepgear's grip. "This stupid dummy deserved it." The candidate sounded so proud of herself, while Soldier was still doubled over in pain. Not even his enhancements helped to fight the pain of being kicked in the jewelry. "Right Rom? Rom?"

Her sister was at Soldier's side, her staff glowing as she used her magic to heal the mercenary. "A-Are you alright, mister?" She asked once she was done, Rom defeated her fear to help a stranger who suffered because of her twin, oblivious to the danger she placed herself.

A hand clamped on her shoulder, holding her in place as it squeezed tightly. The temperature in the room seemed to drop when Soldier slowly and wordlessly rose from the floor. Rom felt her heart stop in fear when the man glared down at her, eyes covered behind his helmet but the candidate could _feel_ his gaze on her.

Another hand wretched Soldier's hand away and held it above his head. Heavy looked down at his teammate and dragged him away from the frightened girl. "Let it go, Soldier. It's just a small girl."

"Yeah, you're scarin' kids here, pal!" Scout joined.

"Alright, y'all might wanna scram quick. Soldier will forget about it later, but don't piss him off more." Engineer pushed Rom into Nepgear's hands, where the Planeptune's candidate was terrified, expecting Soldier to actually hurt the child in front of her.

Ram meanwhile was a few seconds from freezing the merc solid, the only thing stopping her was the crowd around him. Heavy held Soldier back but the mercenary wanted vengeance over his family's jewelry. "Let me go, Commie! This girl thought it would be funny to harm a US Soldier, she deserves some discipline!"

"That ankle-biter is just 7 years old! Hell mate, you're screaming at the wrong kid too!" Sniper shouted as he helped Heavy. What the hell was with Soldier today? This was the second time today they had to restrain him.

Seeing the entire team (minus Spy) trying to hold Soldier back before he delivers freedom and democracy on some innocent kid, Engineer turned back to Nepgear.

"Yeah, l-let's go Rom and Ram." The candidate slowly pushed the twins back into the Resupply. What did Nepgear actually expect when she tried to introduce a pair of kids to a bunch of violent maniacs?

On their way back, the twins locked theirs eyes on another mercenary, a familiar figure clad in an asbestos suit. Lowee's Candidates brightened up upon seeing it. "Pyro!" Ram called, greeting the merc with a wave, Rom did the same with a big smile on her face.

"G-Good morning."

"Mmph!" The merc greeted. Its hands were busy carrying buckets with stuff in it, Nepgear spied some rockets, tools and a medium ammo pack inside. For what reason? The candidate decided she didn't need to know, she wasn't curious about that.

What she wanted to know however, was the twins' relationship with the fire-loving mystery. "You two seem to like Pyro." Ram rolled her eyes like it was the most obvious thing in the world, technically it was pretty obvious but Nepgear had no idea how else she should start this conversation.

"Well, duh! Pyro is great, even better than that loud dummy I kicked."

"Y-You shouldn't kick others, Ram. It's not nice." Rom scolded.

"Yeah, that wasn't nice." Nepgear joined.

The pink twin took offense to that. "He deserved it, Rom." She defended herself. "He said that us girls should just clean up men's messes and make dinner for them."

 _But Soldier didn't say anything about cooking_ \- Nepgear thought with a frown, and then she sighed. "It's still not nice to attack people, Ram." Especially attacking someone who possibly wouldn't be above attacking a child. The lilac-haired girl could see Rom's face when Soldier grabbed her, no doubt mistaking her for the culprit of the attack.

It would turn into a mess if Heavy and the others didn't interfere. Rom could be hurt or worse, then Blanc would raise hell onto them.

"He-He's scary." Rom sniffed, at which Ram eagerly pointed out.

"See! He spooked Rom, this dummy obviously deserved it!" Ram glared at Nepgear, as if daring her to argue it. The Planeptunian however decided to change the subject before more problems arose.

"Let's just go back and play with Hatty, who's with me?"

Ram immediately raised her hand. "Me, let's go Rom!" The pink clad twin dragged her sister into the teleporter, who jumped into it with a cheerful "Woo hoo!" and disappeared. Rom quickly followed but she was much quieter about it than her twin.

Nepgear had to withhold a giggle as she saw Ram's shenanigans. The Candidate quickly hopped onto the teleporter and went back to the Basilicom.

On the other side, Nepgear was met with Rom lying on the floor, again.

* * *

There was something special about walking through the forest in the rain, it was this calmness that filled Falcom with peace unlike the one she felt at her 'death'. The humid air and the sound of rain enriched that sensation.

The adventurer marched forward, drenched and tired but she kept going. The Eyelander was ready to draw if necessary, although there wasn't a monster in sight, all of them just disappeared from Virtua Forest. Saxton Hale was most likely the reason for this.

Samuel's map was accurate, and Falcom easily found the Mascot - a purple CD/DVD disc. And just like he said, it was broken. It was hard to pick the pieces from the mud, but Falcom did her best. One step closer to defeating the ASIC and freeing the rest of the CPUs.

"Can you finally explain to me how did you find this place?" Eyelander said, not missing the face Falcom did. She wanted to tell him, truly. But she didn't have any way. "You know something, and you don't wanna tell me. You so conveniently found a strange book and a map leading to this 'Mascot' as you put it, the thing we were searching for all this time."

"I know."

"You nearly died from Gehaburn, but for some reason you're still alive. The ghost and sword disappeared."

"Yes. I know-"

"You're not Falcom, Hilda Gehaburn."

The adventurer stopped.

"Your hair and eyes changed color. I dunno why, it didn't happen when I was possessing her, but both of us can see the difference between red and blue. Not only that, I lost control over your body. Until you appeared, I could lead and hint where and how Falcom should move. Even take control of certain parts of her body if I tried enough. But now I can't do that, huh? Interesting right?"

"What's your point, Eyelander?" Falcom(?) looked down at the sword, she could feel it emitting hostility and malice.

"My point is, if you don't let the woman go I'll make your new life a living hell."

…

His threat was met with silence. His distrust hurt, but how could she blame him? She's the one not telling him anything after getting an appearance change and suddenly gaining all sorts of new insights.

"...I _am_ Falcom, Duke Eyelander." She reassured, sighing. "It's just… something happened, and I literally, physically cannot talk about it."

"Oh yes? How convenient for you." The sword mocked. "And why exactly can't you talk about it?"

"This s$ ! *$ ^ $&!)&?*-" The adventurer pointed at her stomach, at her recently-made tattoo.

"This what? The scar? It looks bad, but it shouldn't prevent you from talking."

Now Falcom was confused. Did the ghost… not notice the giant tattoo covering her body? They were all around her abdomen and are in bright colors, they're basically screaming for attention! "You really don't see these? These tattoos on my body?" The adventurer said, if only to confirm.

"You're acting very strange, Gehaburn, Falcom, whoever you are." The ghost deadpanned. "No, I don't see any tattoos, I see only a scar on your stomach."

The blue-haired woman was in such shock she could've dropped the bag from her hands. Her eyes widened and she thought that Eyelander may be possibly pulling her leg here, but why he would do such a thing? It wasn't the time or place for playing jokes.

"You're… You're serious? No blue symbols covering my belly and back, nothing?" Falcom touched one of the symbols written on her skin, as if hoping that Eyelander would somehow see the bright blue colors if she just pointed them out.

"I'm starting to think you aren't actually Gehaburn." The ghost suddenly said, but before Falcom could say anything Eyelander continued. "Hilda doesn't seem to be the type to try to force bullshit like this. You should probably go to Medic, blood loss seems to make you hallucinate."

His harsh words and doubt hurt Falcom who thought they'd built up some kind of bond of trust over their adventure, but again it wasn't something she could blame him for. There was no evidence she could present, not for her mystical invisible tattoos, nor for her inability to speak of what happened. To Eyelander, she might as well just be a blabbering madwoman. And to anyone else as well, if she doesn't think of some way to explain herself. At least now she knew not to mention the tattoo.

Still, the stinging feeling of embarrassment clung to Falcom as she travelled back to the Basilicom.

* * *

"I thank you for your help, Mina."

"This wasn't anything to thank me for, Histoire."

The two Oracles walked through the hallway of Planeptune's Basilicom, enjoying a small break they earned.

"No." Histoire shook her head. "It's been a long time since I had someone to help me with my duties, I truly appreciate it." It's been a long time since the fairy wasn't feeling completely exhausted after chipping through her duties, or since she's completed it so quickly. Having someone, even if they're from a different nation, worked wonders for Histoire.

"You make me blush." Mina smiled. Yesterday was a shock for her, but the blue-haired woman didn't seem to show it anymore. Whether she got over it or was simply faking it, Histoire didn't know. But that didn't matter anymore.

Then Histoire stopped all of a sudden. Her smile was gone and she had an unreadable expression on her face. Mina understandably was confused by this behavior, the Lowee's Oracle was even more confused when Histoire sighed and tried to push Mina out of the way. "It would be wise to get out of the way." Said the fairy as she hovered close to the wall.

"Huh?"

"Just wait and see." Was all Histoire said. The two Oracle waited for something, their bodies were as close to the walls as possible. Mina was confused over what is happening while Histoire was just resigned.

Then it happened.

"Ah! F-Faster Rom! She's still chasing after us!" Yelled one voice, which Mina recognized as Ram's.

"Heelp mee!" Came a distressed yelled, which Histoire recognized as Rom's.

"Slow down so I can beat your crap you little brats! Who the hell let you draw all over my character sheets!" An angry, loud voice was the third thing the Oracles heard. Obviously Blanc.

Not a second later, 4 figures passed the two Oracless. Pyro, Ram and Rom were driving as fast as possible in their bumper cars. Mina's eyes widened in shock but she couldn't do much else, as they quickly turned right to continue their escape.

The last one came was Scout, running for his life despite the rest of their group having a vehicle. The young merc passed them, saying "Hi Histoire! Bye Histoire!" and turning left.

Histoire and Mina shared a look, before Blanc… and Medic for some reason, caught up to them. The CPU was looking pissed and had her hammer in her hands, while Medic wrote something on his clipboard. "Good stamina, check!"

The Lowee's CPU turned back. "You're STILL doing this?!" Blanc shouted at the merc, more confused than pissed, but the german merely shrugged at her.

"Shouldn't you chase after them?"

Blanc scoffed and turned around, looking left and right at the cross section. The CPU had no idea which way the brats went, but there was someone who knew. Blanc turned towards the Oracle, her message clear; " _Where did they go?"_

Histoire didn't feel anything when she pointed left, where Scout ran to. Blanc nodded to her and ran off with Medic following her. It wasn't long before the two women heard shouting.

"Ha! I caught you, bastard!"

"Oh no! I knew this would happen! I FORESAW THIS-!" Mina winced when she heard a slam, and undisguisable cries of pain. Both women could hear the CPU beating the ever-loving crap out of the mercenary. And those sounds were very imagination-inducing.

"Don't. Touch. My. Notes. Damnit!" Each word was emphasized by Blanc's hammer crashing down into what could be described as a wet slab off meat. Mina was horrified at what could be a murder happening just around the corner, while some other onlooker just couldn't be happier.

"Oh! Brutal, check." Like a cherry on top, Medic's giddy voice was all they heard before Blanc reentered their vision. The CPU looked relieved if her smile was anything to go by. "I feel much better now." She said to them. "Goodbye Mina, Histoire." And just like that, the Lowee's CPU left them while Mina processed what just happened.

After a moment of silence, Mina calmly (too calmly all things considered) approached where the Oracle expected to see Scout lying on the ground, broken and beaten.

Instead Mina was met with Scout dusting off his pants, looking no worse to wear. "Thanks doc!" He nodded at him and Medic nodded back, turning off his Medi-Gun. Mina was speechless and didn't even register Scout walking up to her. The merc looked her up and down, obviously checking her out. "Why hello there." He greeted, oblivious to the fact that Mina was having trouble figuring out what just happened.

A tiny but comforting hand patted Mina's shoulder. "There events are a daily occurence, Mina. It'll be easier on you if you just didn't think about them too much." Advised Histoire.

* * *

Falcom opened the doors, and peeked inside.

No one was in the lobby. Just the Sentry Gun in the lobby was active.

The adventurer sighed and closed the doors, having an urge to collapse onto the floor. Her expedition was officially over, and it was way more demanding than she expected it to be.

"No one's home, huh?" Eyelander noted.

Falcom was about to say something but a loud crash silenced her, and it even silenced the Sentry Gun.

No seriously, it was dead quiet.

The adventurer frowned, her gut telling her about arising trouble as she instinctively held onto Eyelander's handle.

"Grrrrrrrrrrrr…" It was a low growl, like a beast hidden upstairs. Falcom now was seriously concerned, was there an intruder in the Hotel? One of Medic's experiments running free? A monster?

Falcom took a few cautious steps forward, noting that the Sentry Gun was suddenly silent. And the footsteps were as clear as ever, the growling didn't stop.

"Is anyone there?" Falcom called out, drawing out the sword. If this was one of the mercs, then there wouldn't be any loss. She would just sheathe the Eyelander back, and leave it there with the drink for Demoman and an apology note.

But if this _wasn't_ a mercenary nor one of her friends?

The answer came quickly.

" **REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!** " The unknown person roared, quickly climbing down the stairs and pouncing at Falcom. She was frozen in place as _Demoman_ sent her onto the floor, with him crashing on top of her.

Falcom was left dizzy, while the scot got off her and grabbed her by shoulders. "Falcom!" He yelled at her. "Ya traitorous devil! Where's me Eyelander?"

Her vision spun and she felt sick from him shaking her, but the blue-haired adventurer found strength to raise the possessed sword. The scotsman immediately let her go to grab his dead roommate. "Eyelander! Ya possessed, rusty friend. I was worried sick aboot ye!"

"Yes, yes. Hello again, Demoman." The ghost said, rolling his eyes if he could.

Shaking his head, Demoman placed the sword next to the wall and turned his attention back at the woman who stole his roommate from him. "What the bloody hell, Falcom! Ya just don't take someone's stuff without askin' fer it! Didn't ya mum taught you sum manners? What are ye; some sneaky thief who doesn' know to keep her hands to herself-?"

"I bought you some booze, I'm sorry!" Falcom interrupted, holding out a bottle of whiskey for him to take before he could continue his furious rant.

"And welcome back, me good ol' friend." Demoman took the booze and started drinking, his anger now forgotten in alcohol. _Worked like a charm_ \- Falcom thought with relief, and took this as a chance to recollect herself and make her vision finally stop spinning. The mercenary shook her so hard, her neck and shoulders hurt.

"So where have ya and Mr. Hale been?" Demoman asked, playing with his open bottle.

Falcom sat on a chair and twiddled her thumbs. "Well… me and Mr. Hale seperated, I went to investigate an ancient castle and he wanted to kill some more monsters. I dunno where he is now." Falcom tried searching for him, but Eyelander told her it would take an eternity to find him, and Falcom didn't have his number so she couldn't call him… She hoped he was alright.

...This was Saxton Hale though, it's better to hope that the _monsters_ were alright.

"Aye, fair enough. I dig ya new hair color." He commented, drinking more booze that Falcom bought him. The girl in question was slightly flustered at Demo's casual compliment. She wanted to speak more with him, but she remembered the things she needed to do once she got back.

"Thanks Demo, sorry but I can't talk right now. I gotta go to Histoire and show that I'm not dead and… stuff." Falcom stood up while the merc nodded understandingly, however someone else was confused.

"Why didn't you just call her? You have your phone on yourself, right?" Falcom froze at Eyelander's words. After all that had happened, it didn't occur to the adventurer to use the wonder of technology and update the Oracle via the easiest means. "...Oops?" She sheepishly shrugged. "Anyway, I'm going to Histoire, bye."

"See ya later, girlie." Demoman raised his bottle.

"Goodbye, Woman."

* * *

"Hey, Historie. I'm back.

"F-Falcom? I'm glad you- _what happened to you?_ "

One look at Histoire, and a perceptive person could tell she was troubled by what she saw. Mina was one of those, but she didn't need to look at her… ally's face to tell something was wrong. This Falcom's clothing was covered in blood, _a lot of blood_.

Histoire however, was concerned about many more things.

The person standing in her office was undeniably Falcom, but she changed drastically. Her sudden change in hair and eye color, this _scar_ that Histoire was sure wasn't there before. All of this piled into a conclusion that something happened during Nepgear's friend's adventure with Mr. Hale. The fairy could only hope nothing very bad happened, but judging by the scar and blood there was some bloodshed involved.

And most of the monsters don't bleed red.

The recently-blue haired woman put her arm behind her neck, struggling to explain herself. "I- well… I have no idea how I should explain what happened."

The fairy's features hardened, sensing yet another batch of troubles arriving. "Take a seat, Falcom. And please, try your best to explain."

Falcom did as told, and pondered how she could report her recent adventure while simultaneously trying to avoid the censorship placed on her and make her story believable. Although the evidence is clear, and it's on Falcom's body.

"Let me start with this." She placed her plastic bag on the desk, and took out the shards of the mascot and the skillbook, laying them both on the desk. "I found the Mascot, Histoire. I found the Planeptune mascot!" Falcom announced with a bit of a pride, while Histoire and Mina stared at her in shock. The fairy carefully grabbed one of the shards and examined it, confirming that this was indeed the remains of Planeptune's mascot, which both she and Spy has been searching for all this time (mainly Spy)...

And Falcom just delivered it to the Basilicom, just like that.

"W-What happened to it? How did you find it? Where did you find it?"

"It was like that when I found it, the ASIC found it first. I found it deep in the Virtua Forest and how…" How was the funny part which Falcom feared to say, because the adventurer would have to explain that her speech is Censored and how she was being Censored. The latter one was tricker to explain.

"!&$(#^ told me." Falcom sighed upon revealing the forbidden name of that Overseer. Of course saying it directly wouldn't work… But she had an idea during the walk home.

Before the confused Oracles could ask about whatever Falcom just said, the adventurer continued. "Nevermind that, can I have a pen and some paper?"

Histoire was understandably confused by Falcom's request (which was a feat considering the fairy is usually nonplussed when she partakes in the mercenaries' shenanigans), but the Oracle gave her a pen and a clean sheet of paper. Falcom began to work immediately and began to write a message, confusing the Oracles even further.

 _I met a man named Samuel Neikan, who helped me find the Mascot. He claimed to be the "Overseer of NEO Hyper Dimension" (whatever it is). He (maybe) saved my life but also prevented me from speaking about certain things at the same time. Help._

She skipped over the details about Gehaburn and Angela, but she didn't have enough space (nor their patience) to write about it. Falcom pushed her letter to Histoire, urging the fairy to read it, but the writing on the paper just confused Histoire even more. "Falcom, what am I looking at? What are these… symbols I'm looking at."

 _Of course this wouldn't be so easy! -_ The adventurer inwardly screamed. It was a good idea though, now she learned that she couldn't say anything even through paper, because Samuel wouldn't be so nice to forget about it.

Histoire was about to ask if those events she had been through somehow reduced her ability to communicate, or it was some weird prank (doubtful, Falcom doesn't seem the type to make jokes like these). But then Falcom came forward and answered her unspoken question.

"Alright, let me try this. I met a man, just… _a man_ , and he helped me, but also put a spell on me that… well, censors me, I dunno how it works but it doesn't let me talk about certain things, including anything about this man or how I found the Mascot." The adventurer found joy in the fact she could actually explain her troubles to the Oracle in front of her. It was vague and not very helpful, but it was SOMETHING at least.

"I've… never heard of a spell like that before." Mina mused, she had vast knowledge over all kinds of magic, and yet this was the first time she ever heard something that's able to censor the speech of a person.

Maybe she was lying?

Then Mina would leave the talking to Histoire, while Mina analyzed Falcom's answers.

Although with the way both of them were staring at her, Mina will have to continue. "Lowee has a vast knowledge over all kinds of magic, I even passed this knowledge to Rom and Ram… but none of the books ever mentioned a spell like that."

Falcom looked away, thinking on Mina's answer. Then after a brief moment she took the book from the desk and handed it to Mina. "Can you read this and tell me what it is?" Mina took the book and looked at it, a thin book with a thick red cover and a golden flame on it. There wasn't any title on the cover. The Oracle tried to open it.

She couldn't.

Mina checked if something was somehow preventing it from opening, or if it was glued together, but there was nothing. The book simply refused to open. "I think someone magically bound this book to a someone, so that it could be opened only by that designated person."

Falcom nodded. "He said this is a gift to IF, a reward for freeing Blanc from the ASIC."

And just like that, Histoire was suspicious. "Who was this person?"

Falcom pointed at her brain. "Sorry, censoring seal. Every time I've tried it just comes out as jumbled gibberish, I even tried writing it just now and all you saw were symbols."

"So, this… _man_ , placed a seal on you to prevent you from leaking any information on him, is that right?" The fairy deduced.

"Yes." Falcom nodded.

Histoire collapsed into her chair, already feeling more exhausted than from hours of paperwork. She already has enough problems on her plate, and now there's some mysterious entity with unknown knowledge and magicks involving himself into their affairs. As a tome fairy, one of the things that aggravates her the most is the lack of information, and this… _man_ was the epitome of 'lack of information'.

"Well, if nothing else, I think he's on our side, considering he helped me find the mascot."

"If he wants to help, then he could do it in a more obvious manner. Playing a mysterious benefactor isn't a good way to earn people's trust." Histoire countered Falcom's statement, but then she sighed. "Putting the matter of this man, and the mascot, aside for now though, what happened to you Falcom? You're covered in blood." The adventurer sank into her seat, suddenly very aware that she's reeking of the familiar crimson liquid.

"I think I can talk about that much. Okay, let's start with how me and Mr. Hale separated ourselves…"

* * *

Histoire sighed, her finger scratched the area between her brows. Next to her was Mina with a thoughtful expression, thinking hard about the ghost Falcom just described. The fairy however was also concerned about that Angela girl who tried to utilize said spirit to kill Nepgear.

Nepgear was this close from going through an assassination attempt. The mere thought scared the Oracle of Planeptune. "Do you know where Angela currently is?" The fairy had to remind herself that bringing harm to the Dark Magician would only justify her actions, however that didn't mean Histoire couldn't keep tabs on her.

But the plan of spying on the would-be assassin fell to pieces when Falcom shook her head. "Not really, our _Mysterious Benefactor_ moved her somewhere inside Planeptune. But I don't think she'll be any threat to us without the Gehaburn." Then Falcom turned to Mina. "By the way, Oracle Mina, do you know anything about Hilda Gehaburn? Or the sword Gehaburn?"

The lightly-blue haired girl thought for a moment, sighed and then shook her head in defeat. "No actually, but I could search through the myths and legends to find something about that cursed blade."

"Judging from your story, the Gehaburn holds a deep resentment towards the CPUs, right?" Histoire said, and Falcom nodded.

"That's right. She called Nepgear a Devil, and said her (involuntary) actions lead to a lot of people dying. Me and Eyelander defended Nepgear of course, but Gehaburn still attacked us. Something about stopping history from repeating itself."

"Yes. You said it before." Histoire nodded at Falcom's retelling. "Although I'm still unsure about this history you saw in the castle. I don't remember ever interacting with the Deity of Sin, nor with a CPU with twintails who killed her own subjects… this is our first incident like this." Admitting it hurt Histoire way more than she expected. Nepgear shouldn't suffer for her mistakes.

"Is it possible that Gehaburn simply lied to Falcom and Eyelander?" Mina suggested.

"What would she get from lying to us though?" Falcom answered as she looked at the ceiling. "Besides, Angela's Wraith Manifestation shows memories that people made. So Angela and Gehaburn would have to be in on it together."

"It's unlikely then." The Oracle admitted.

"It is, now let's move onto the aftermath of your adventure. Falcom, give me your hand." Falcom was confused, but she did as Histoire requested. The fairy took Falcom's hand and Histoire's eyes suddenly lit up… literally. Histoire's eyes went from dull blue to light blue.

"W-What are you doing?" Falcom asked, but she received no answer from Histoire, and a shrug from Mina. Falcom felt like Samuel was inspecting her for the first time, except Histoire was way less invasive with it which makes the adventurer suspicious that the Overseer really just wanted to grope her bosom.

Suddenly Histoire frowned and her eyes reverted to their original color. "It's… strange." The fairy said as she let Falcom go, who raised an eyebrow.

"What is it?"

"First of all, I found a Share Imprint on you. The Shares are… familiar, but they don't belong to any CPU I know, and not only that, but there's also something preventing me from checking your psyche, something very powerful and complex in design. I speculate that has something to do with our mysterious benefactor."

 _This something is probably the Seal that Samuel placed on her_ \- Falcom thought. It was supposed to make her mind unreadable by any third party. But what was a Share Imprint? The adventurer was about to ask that, but then Histoire's expression turned grave.

"And the most worrying of all, I can confirm that there's someone else's soul infused with yours. Too deeply to safely separate them in any kind of way."

…

"What is a Share Imprint?" Falcom asked, as if Histoire didn't just drop that bombshell on her a second ago. The fairy looked at her for an extended period of time, blue eyes staring into darker blue eyes while uncomfortable silence fell between them.

"You're not bothered by the fact someone else has melded with your soul?"

"I am _immensely_ bothered, but I already knew about that thanks to _him_." Though it was hearing it from Histoire that sealed the deal for her, Gehaburn was inside Falcom and there wasn't anything she could do about it. At least she had time to mentally prepare herself, even if it was a short time. "So, what's a Share Imprint?"

Histoire sighed and Mina was amazed how calmly Falcom took this information. She had a malevolent spirit infused with her and the adventurer is like 'Ok'. What a woman.

"Falcom, this is serious. You're a threat to the CPUs, to us, right now. Do you truly understand the magnitude of the situation you're in?"

"I am, Histoire." The adventurer matched the blonde's gaze, not backing down from her words. It was Histoire who broke away first.

"I would say I trust and understand your decision, however that would be a lie. I won't throw you out or lock you away because you're Nepgear's friend, but I am forced to at least place you under surveillance for the time being. Are you fine with that?"

"Yeah, honestly it makes _me_ feel safer knowing someone's keeping tabs on me." Falcom nodded. "So what's a Share Imprint?"

"A Share Imprint is a sign that a person is spending a lot of time near a CPU. The stronger the Goddess is, the faster her shares will imprint onto others, and the mark will also be stronger as well."

"Does it do anything?"

"It doesn't. It only shows that a person spends a lot of time near a CPU. For example; IF and Compa have Share Imprints on themselves albeit smaller and weaker ones, but yours..." Histoire swallowed. "is very strong and very visible. Tell me, was there anyone with _him,_ and for how long were you with him?"

"We were alone, and we talked for... few minutes, I guess? An hour max." Histoire's shoulders dropped, Mina blinked, and Falcom was slightly confused by their reaction.

"You were talking with someone for up to an hour, and it left a Share Imprint so strong on you?" Histoire asked, more to herself than the adventurer.

Falcom slowly nodded. "Also he told me he's just a human, so maybe he's not even a CPU at all."

It was the second bombshell that Falcom dropped on both Oracles, and both times Falcom didn't realize how significant that was. Mina and Histoire shared a look, both of them very unnerved by this information. "He told you he was... a human." Said Mina.

"A simple human like any other in Gamindustri." Said Histoire.

"And he's not a CPU, God or anything similar?" Finished both of them.

Falcom had no idea what was happening, so she just gave them a confused "Yes?"

Histoire collapsed into her chair while Mina felt like fainting. "I hope he was lying, please tell me he was lying, please." Mina whispered loudly while Histoire felt like all of her troubles so far just stopped mattering anymore.

"At this point I'm more ready to believe he lied and he's actually a Male CPU, as unlikely as the situation would be."

"But- But why?" Falcom blinked.

"Because if he isn't a CPU, then that can only mean there's a Goddess who left her mark on him, and said mark was strong enough that it rubbed off on YOU, and still left an imprint that strong in so short a time. For such a thing to occur, this CPU may well be on a completely different level of power from any CPU to have existed in Gamindustri. The implications are… concerning."

* * *

Her doors closed with a _click,_ and then Falcom sighed.

At long last, her own room in the Basilicom.

Funny how exhausting one adventure could be.

The recently blue haired woman walked around the room, silently examining her little nest in the most important building in Planeptune. It was her habit to do so when she had something to think on. And today she had a lot to think about.

"Why me? Why this?"

It wasn't a question directed at anyone, Falcom just wanted to say it. Why did she take the Eyelander with herself, why did he find and wanted to meet the Gehaburn, why did she fight Angela instead letting her take the sword? Funny how each of those little things lead to her being… possessed? Half-possessed? Soul-melded? Does it even matter what she calls a malevolent spirit who wants to kill her friends being infused into her very being?

"And all of this could been avoided if I just did _something_ different." Falcom muttered, sitting on the bed. She won't cry about what happened, that won't change anything. But it's nice to think about what happened in peace, trying to imagine various 'what ifs' and how the story would go from there.

If Falcom had simply walked elsewhere, then she wouldn't have arrive at the LAN Castle. Then Angela would get the Gehaburn, or be possessed by her. Then Samuel could abduct the Dark Magician instead and seal the spirit within her. Which begs the question, why did he even compliment her on stopping Angela? The outcome would be the same; 1 possessed person meeting the Overseer of NEO Hyper Dimension and the Overseer sealing the ghost within the possessed person.

Okay… maybe Angela wouldn't want to help Samuel like she did… and maybe Angela would try to somehow unseal herself to kill Nepgear…

Okay, now she understood why Samuel was thankful that Angela was stopped.

But now _she_ was the threat.

The pillow buckled under the weight of Falcom's head. The woman on the bed frowned as she lay there, still in her blood stained clothes. The adventurer was used to the metallic smell that followed her, so she didn't even notice it, because something was more worthy of her attention.

The fact she was now a threat to Nepgear.

Falcom turned around, noticing the camera in the corner of her room. True to Histoire's word, the Oracle was serious about placing her under surveillance, because she was a potential threat to the CPU Candidate of Planeptune.

Truth be told, in hindsight, she's surprised it wasn't something worse, like being locked away in some containment facility or even having the mercs sent after her, but thankfully Histoire was a merciful person, and now really wasn't the time to cause a rift between the Oracle and Nepgear by imprisoning or killing the Candidate's friend.

All things considered, Falcom was grateful that being observed at all times was the worst she got, and she wasn't kidding about a part of her feeling safer for it even. At least someone will know if the seal ever weakens and Gehaburn starts taking over.

That didn't change the fact life's going to be hard for a long while to come.

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **A Change in Force**

* * *

This chapter, I hate this chapter. It came at such a shitty time when I was low on free time because of a job I took for the summer holiday, and combined with the fact I was suffering from a writer's block through the entire month.

And worst of all, I couldn't even skip this chapter because of Histoire meets New!Falcom scene, it was too important to skip and I also couldn't put it on the next chapter because there'll be an event which I want to focus an entire chapter on it. That's how important it is.

In short: A job + writer's block = 2 months of writing… around 9k chapter. Yeah.

Also school is starting, which is great /s

Hopefully the next one will come faster.

Responses:

kerrowe:

At this point, I'm giving Falcom so much focus that she might be as well the Main Character here, especially when she's going to be crucial for the ending (Samuel too, which was why I said LAN Castle was crucial for this fic's ending)

G-Man? I don't think I can write G-Man. Samuel is kinda similar to him now that I think about it… but Samuel is (or will, at least) be more active than the mysterious briefcase guy.

Metastable:

Eh, don't worry.

FourElemental:

IN HELL! He's ripping off the devil himself!

And yes, Samuel was [censored] Falcom's [censored].

NexusPrime42:

I'll admit it, I forgot about him and Underling. I'm not gonna promise anything, but I'll try to put them somewhere in the story.

\- Harmless Orange


	32. Memorial

**Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Memorial**

* * *

Today was the day, the day of the Memorial.

The day when Planeptune as a whole would gather to say their final goodbyes to the lives lost at the hands of mercenaries.

The Basilicom buzzed with activity, and workers who weren't part of the skeleton staff were given a day off to attend. Basilicom Staff helped one another to make themselves look their best. The entire building could be compared to a hive of insects, workers walking in all directions to complete some sort of goal during those final moments.

It came as a surprise to no one that Histoire allowed everyone in the nation to take a break to attend, productivity was secondary to the publicity. Especially when the life of the ruler literally depended on it.

Which was why the CPU Candidate of Planeptune, and even the CPU of Lowee were getting prepared for departure.

"You sure it was a good idea to make Rom and Ram stay here?" Nepgear asked, watching her reflection in the mirror as her hairdresser folded her hair into a neat bun. It felt weird having her hair done, especially by someone else. She was never a person to do something with her hair, she just let it grow.

"Do you really want two rowdy kids to crash this event?" Blanc answered with a raised eyebrow. Mina (who was already done with her preparations) was currently assisting the CPU in making her usual outfit look as clean as it could. Because the Loweeans didn't bring any ceremonial outfits (especially the kind to fit a funeral), Mina and Blanc didn't have much to work with. Hopefully the public will be too shocked to say anything. The rescue of Blanc wasn't published yet.

"Lady White Heart does have a point, Lady Nepgear." Nepgear's hairdresser said. "And also, kids would be bored on an event like this, as all we'll be doing is standing around."

Mina let out a small sigh. "I silently hope that the mercenaries won't get into any trouble, or rather won't cause any issues." It would be best if they didn't come at all. Mina might have known them for only 3 days, but this was enough for her to… form an opinion on the mercenaries' usual behavior, one that wasn't the most positive.

"Demo said they're leaving the crazier ones in the Hotel, and that he's also staying. I think they'll be fine, Histoire is with them right now." Blanc reassured.

 _Then Soldier, Pyro and Demoman won't be there. Maybe a few others too. -_ Nepgear thought before the hairdresser finished. "Done!" The woman exclaimed. "You look great, Lady Nepgear. I made sure to show off your mature side, I hope you like it." The lilac bulb of hair on her head matched with her dark purple suit, giving her a dignified look that people would expect from Noire, but here was Nepgear, looking like a proper ruler. The hat she just donned only bolstered said image, though the veil covering her face was annoying.

However no other hat would match, and headgear was important. Just like the mercenaries said.

"How do I look?" The Candidate turned towards Blanc and Mina, giving them a full view of her outfit. The Loweeans looked up and down at her, their expressions positive. "Heh. I can barely recognize you with that get up." Blanc commented. "You look good though, in a serious sort of way."

"Yeah, since this day is pretty important, I thought I would experiment a little. What do you think, Oracle Nishizawa?" The hairdresser looked at the Oracle for her opinion.

"I think you look great, Nepgear." Mina smiled. It felt weird seeing Nepgear with pants, as the Candidate, or all CPUs in general, generally wore skirts and dresses. It wasn't an unwelcome change though.

"It kinda makes me think that we shouldn't even transform. What's the points of all of these preparations if we're just going to stay in HDD?"

"You have enough shares to stay in HDD for that long?" The hairdresser commented, before realizing who she was speaking to. "Oh, I'm sorry Lady White Heart, I just-"

"It's _fine_." Blanc cut her off, annoyance thick in her voice. Then the CPU sighed, realizing the cruel reality. "No, at least _I_ don't have them. Damn ASIC drained all my shares, I'm running on reserves." Rom and Ram did a good job of getting enough shares to just scrape by, but one small misstep and Blanc would have to take a nap again.

"We could just walk with the others, in our human forms." Nepgear suggested. "There's no point in wasting shares and the time we spent preparing our looks."

"Yeah, you're right." The Lowee CPU admitted. It's not like CPUs only ever showed themselves to the public in their Goddess forms, they can take it easy and not use their energy transforming for no reason. It may also present a more down-to-earth feeling for the occasion, put them on a level closer to the civilians to be more sympathetic.

The clock showed that twenty minutes remained until the memorial. It was plenty of time for them, as the memorial was held in front of the Basilicom, but it wouldn't hurt to check the crowds and wait with them. Millions of people stopping their work and gathering together to grief over a handful (comparatively) of people lost, it spoke volumes about Neptune's subjects.

"Let's leave now, we don't want to keep the people waiting."

Hopefully the folks here would be too surprised by Blanc's reemergence to lash out at anyone.

* * *

The streets of Planeptune were cramped, the sidewalks and streets alike taken over by the masses of people. That was normal here. What _wasn't_ normal however was the sullen and somber atmosphere. It was the first time Nepgear has left the Basilicom that she _wasn't_ met with loud noises. The usual noise of a city hosting millions of people just disappeared for today, and it was… creepy.

There was once an empty space in front of Basilicom, Histoire could never figure out what to do with it so she decided to just leave it empty. Now, the ASIC has placed a monument right in the middle. A big slab of rock, surrounded by flowers and candles, with names etched in it. So many names were written, and yet underneath it was another, smaller pedestal.

" _...And 4,248 other unidentified people."_

Blanc had to stop her own jaw from dropping as she gazed upon the monument herself. She knew the mercs killed a _lot_ of people, but seeing the sheer amount of names on the collective tombstone and the additional count put the situation further into perspective. She wondered if she should be disturbed that she found herself just a bit impressed that 9 people killed this many in so little time, or that the ASIC actually put the effort into carving that many names into the monument for an event that clearly held ulterior motives.

The Loweean CPU could feel the surprised gazes of people on herself and Nepgear. Just as predicted, her arrival was a big shock to everybody, and her ears caught countless whispers going on.

Histoire, IF, Compa and Falcom stood at the front, dressed appropriately for the ceremony. Histoire's expression was unreadable, but a great guilt brewed within her. IF held her hands together in a silent prayer, Compa stared at the ground with a sad face and Falcom was deep in thoughts. The adventurer's abrupt transformation came as a surprise to Nepgear, but she shrugged it off.

But she couldn't shrug off Falcom's attempts at avoiding Nepgear, and the other CPUs as well.

Blanc heard about her from Mina, and the CPU understood her actions. Nepgear and Falcom shared a brief look before the blue-haired woman turned her face back into the ground, and shuffled a bit away from the Candidate. Nepgear's heart broke. Histoire informed her that Falcom was a potential threat, but it didn't stop the lilac-haired girl from trying.

An army of Basilicom Staff and Guild members kept the public away from the monument, giving Nepgear, Blanc and other important personnel some space to grief. Curiously enough, the ASIC grunts were helping with setting up the perimeter, and they largely outnumbered the forces of Planeptune. The message here was clear: ethics, religion, gender, nationality, good or evil. Sides didn't matter today, everyone gathered in one place to do just one thing.

Honor the dead's memory.

And the mercenaries themselves were among the crowd, their red clothing stood out from the rest of the population. Scout, Soldier, Heavy, Engineer, Medic, Sniper and Spy. The rest stayed behind in the hotel. Those outsiders were a direct reason for this day, but it was Histoire who hired them and gave a greenlight. And Nepgear didn't object towards it.

But those killers still attended the memorial. Maybe because deep down they regretted it, maybe because it was convenient, maybe because Nepgear was there and they felt like they needed to protect her. Only they knew the reason. But Blanc hoped that this was a sign that they can be redeemed, they did agree to stop killing the ASIC after all. If Blanc played her cards right, there won't be another Memorial to attend.

Soldier in particular was a surprising sight. He didn't have his helmet on, he held it close to his chest and was staring down at the floor, muttering something.

Everyone were here, _even the CFWs themselves_. CFW Trick and Brave were at the sides of the small empty space, standing guard for anyone daring to break through, and CFW Magic stood between the CPUs and their friends, the Felon watching the approaching Goddesses with a passive expression.

"Well, you're early. We still got about ten minutes." Magic said when the CPUs got close enough.

"Yeah, we do know how to check the clock." Blanc dryly commented. If this was anywhere else, she would have transformed and charged the Felon right then and there. But with so many people nearby, two other CFWs close by, and the context of the event, she couldn't act rashly. As much as she despised the woman before her and knew her to be a threat, she'll have to stay calm until the end.

CFW Magic said nothing, and the three of them walked towards the monument.

Nepgear and CFW Magic stood arm to arm, before the felon did something unexpected. She _wrapped_ her own hand around Nepgear's, holding it in a gentle mother-like squeeze. The lilac-haired candidate looked at her hand, and then at the taller woman, confused by Magic's gesture and even more confused by what Nepgear saw on Magic's face.

There was a single tear running down her cheek. Something that Nepgear never expected to see, nor she knew how to react at the sight of someone who is supposed to be her nemesis holding her hand and crying right in front of her.

In that moment, Nepgear felt sympathy.

It was two of them, sworn enemies, holding hands before the griefing crowds. The families of people who lost their lives, because of actions made by Nepgear's forces. Their friends and colleagues in ASIC, strangers from the streets of Planeptune, even the workers from the Basilicom and the mercenaries themselves, all of them gathered here and set aside their differences.

The CPU Candidate turned her gaze towards the ground, and then to the hand she was holding. The sleek, pink hand of CFW Magic was wrapped around her own one. A gesture that the ASIC Leader imposed herself.

They were supposed to be mortal enemies, but for today Magic was willing to set aside her hostility in honor of the dead. Nepgear decided to tighten the grip a little, not knowing how else she should return the favor, if she _should_ be returning the favor. The situation was too bizarre.

"W-Why did you do it?" The CPU Candidate began meekly, almost afraid to speak up. Behind them CFW Trick cried in an almost exaggerated manner, but the Candidate and the Felon didn't pay him any mind.

"I didn't do it." Magic retorted, not bothering to lower her gaze as she wiped her eye. "It was you, and your Secret Staff that killed them. All of them." Her tone was casual, unbothered even. But the words were like knives to Nepgear, stabbing deeply into her and cutting down her resolve. She could've sworn that suddenly everything felt heavier...

"I-I didn't mean them. I mean… all _this_. Why did you kidnap the CPUs? My sister? Why are you trying to have ASIC take over the nations? What are you trying to accomplish?"

"Tell me, what were their lives to you? Those people who died in the past two weeks?" Magic asked, finally locking her eye with Nepgear's, who was surprised by the change in a topic. The lilac-haired girl could only blink with a confused "Huh?", and Magic took that as a sign to continue. "There's a clear difference between capturing a Goddess, who knew beforehand the risks of venturing to the Gamindustri Graveyard, and needlessly murdering thousands of people that were just following orders, and had nothing to do with the capture of your sister."

At this point, Blanc, who had been listening in on their conversation, grit her teeth and glared daggers at the leader of ASIC. "Get off your high horse, bitch! You guys aren't saints yourself, or who else has been trying to destabilize the whole friggin world?"

"You've been doing that just fine without my help." Magic replied, adding fuel to Blanc's fire. "The people's suffering has never been our goal. We only had to remove you CPUs because you were an obstacle to what we want. _Knowledge._ "

Nepgear blinked. _This_ was their reason for kidnapping her sister and the other CPUs? Not sowing chaos, not taking over the world, but _knowledge_? Knowledge to what? "W-What do you want to know?"

The Felon looked down at her, her amber eye staring into Nepgear's purple eyes. The candidate felt nervous under Magic's calculating gaze, exposed, vulnerable. The only thing preventing them from fighting was the public, but the threat of political suicide isn't as severe to Magic as it was to Nepgear, and the Felon could easily summon her scythe and send Nepgear through the Re:Spawn.

Then Magic smiled, and Nepgear didn't know whether it was a good or bad thing. "And why would you want to know?"

Nepgear's mind blanked at first, but she quickly found her words again. "W-Why wouldn't I? If it's knowledge you want, maybe we can help?" Everyone nearby was surprised, shocked by Nepgear's offer to help the ASIC, everyone but Magic herself. "After all, if we can help you find this knowledge, that means you can let the CPUs go, right? And stop trying to summon Arfoire? We won't have to fight anymore. No one else will have to die…"

The Felon stared down at the Candidate, a strange look in her eye, before shaking her head. "The information I want can't be found in Gamindustri. Only Arfoire holds the key."

"How can you be so sure?" Nepgear pressed.

"..." CFW Magic didn't answer. Instead she glanced at CFW Brave who tapped his forearm while looking at her. Not moments later bells started ringing and silenced everyone. "It's about to begin." Magic stated.

She didn't miss the look Nepgear gave her.

* * *

The noises of the crowd gradually died down again, as the bells rang again. Soon there was total silence, broken only by the bells.

Usually the CPU and Oracle would follow the parade to the place of the event, but because that place was in front of the Basilicom, the parade came without them. 2 men and a woman in white robes with purple lining; Nepgear didn't recognize their garb, but it looked ceremonial. They were escorted by other people in suits, who were ringing the bells.

The crowd split into two, letting the parade through without trouble. The woman suddenly stopped and walked towards the crowd, with the other two people following her. An old man was crying and Nepgear's heart sank at what she saw. A pitiful old man crying over someone who lost their life... killed by her friends and staff…

The woman gave him a tissue, and whispered something to him. The man took it, nodding and wiping away his tears.

There were more people like him, Nepgear and Histoire realized. Today they were harshly reminded that all those ASIC grunts, their enemies, were also citizens of Planeptune, their own subjects. It was different from just seeing it on the news, or reading about it in a report. Right there before Histoire was a man crying over a dead family member, effectively executed under the Oracle's orders for being hired by ASIC. And he was far from the only one.

For a moment, Histoire wondered if she had caused more suffering on Planeptune than the ASIC ever did.

After the parade reached the monument, the woman and the two men greeted the leaders with nods and "Good days.", before leaving a bundle of flowers in front of the monument. Another one to a big pile, Histoire allowed herself to think how hard it would be to clean it up later. All those petals.

"Citizens of Planeptune, and all of Gamindustri." The woman began, her voice amplified through the speakers set up around the area. "The CPUs and Oracles ruling the Four Nations, and… the Leaders of ASIC."

A speech, Nepgear and Histoire already knew about it. There always had to be a speech for a day like these, Histoire even had to prepare one herself, in case she would be called to give her own thing.

"Planeptune has suffered a great catastrophe. Day after day, our friends and families were losing their lives. To some of you, they were your fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters, your families. To some of you they were your friends or enemies."

Spy raised his eyebrow, this was a weird thing to add to the speech for the dead.

"But for today, we all gathered here to honor their memory, and give them the goodbye they deserved. To show them, that they won't be forgotten and they will be missed. To show their killers that justice will come for them with vengeance."

Histoire, IF and the mercenaries grew confused, and very concerned. This wasn't the type of speech you should hear at a burial… Histoire locked her eyes with Spy, and despite the distance she could still… 'read' his thoughts, for the lack of a better word.

 _Spy: I don't like this._

 _Histoire: Me neither. Can we do something?_

 _Spy: Nothing you would be happy about, with all of these people around._

 _Histoire: CFW Magic and Nepgear are holding hands… do you think she would do something in front of all of these people?_

 _Spy: I don't know… but our options are limited. One small misstep and the public could turn against us._

The Oracle blinked, surprised by the… conversation she just had with the mercenary. Spy himself just looked curiously at her, but for a different reason. Then he started pushing his way through the crowd, Histoire watching him skillfully walk around the people for a moment before turning her attention towards Nepgear. The Candidate was in a whispered conversation with Magic, but Histoire couldn't hear anything. Magic made sure it was for Nepgear's ears only. The Candidate turned her gaze towards the crowds, and found Scout looking at her, he gave her a cheery wave and a smile.

Nepgear said something, and a small, barely visible smile appeared on Magic's face. It had bad news written all over it.

"Violence breeds more violence, misery and death. And through that violence, all of us will lose something-"

"Why?! Why would you do that?!"

Someone shouted from the crowd, interrupting the speaker. Eyes turned to the source of the shout, and found a young woman pointing accusingly at Nepgear.

"Why did you kill those people?"

* * *

It spiralled out of control like fire. One person, it took one brave person to ask the question and the crowd soon followed.

"Why would you order DEATHS for them?!"

"He was our only source of credits!"

"What else are you hiding?!"

"It's your fault!"

Nepgear hyperventilated as more and more shouts came from the enraged crowd, determined to get their answers. She took a step back, but CFW Magic gently pushed her towards the crowd. Nepgear looked at her, and saw a smile present on Magic's face. "Shouldn't a leader answer their nation's questions? It would do you no good if you kept silent." The Felon teased, and Nepgear just realized in how much trouble she was in. Faced against her own enraged citizens, with no means of escape.

"Why do this?"

"Where is Lady Neptune?!"

"What kind of nation are you running?!"

"Fuck this government, I want the ASIC!"

" **Would you all just goddamn shut up?!** "

Light momentarily blinded Nepgear as Blanc transformed. There was a moment of silence as people were too shocked to see the CPU of Lowee transforming in front of them. Blanc took advantage of this and pointed at the woman who started it all. "You. What the hell are you talking about?"

The citizen, understandably, grew nervous after being on the receiving end of attention, the attention of a CPU who was known for her temper. To her credit however, she held her own ground and adopted a brave posture relatively quickly.

"This doesn't concern you, CPU of Lowee. These are Planeptune matters."

"Well Lowee and Planeptune are in an alliance now, so that makes this my freakin' problem as well." She spat back, and the woman's eyes widened. Giving her no edge in the conversation, Blanc continued. "Either way, this is a memorial service, so can you _not_ try to start a riot while we're honoring the dead?"

Nepgear's fear turned into amazement. A seemingly hopeless situation was quickly and effortlessly defused by Blanc. Something Nepgear wouldn't be able to do on her own. Blanc looked back at the Candidate of Planeptune and gave her a nod, signalling that she has her back.

But Magic didn't stop smiling.

"We don't care!"

The crowd cheered at those words, and hostility intensified even faster than before. CFW Brave and Trick had to step in to stop the public from overrunning the security. "It doesn't seem like the public has a good opinion of you, Nepgear. Hm?" The purple-haired Felon smirked tauntingly.

"I knew you were up to something. You planted a few toadies in the crowd didn't you?" Blanc growled, glaring daggers at the felon. It had no effect however, Magic was simply unbothered by Blanc's angry face.

"I did no such thing." The leader of ASIC shrugged. "The people connected the dots themselves. All we did was give them an opportunity to voice their suspicions." So this whole memorial was just to trap them with an angry crowd, unable to escape due to the repercussions an enraged crowd can do to Shares, Blanc concluded. "You brought this on yourselves." Magic added.

"Screw you." Blanc spat back. "I was stupid to think for even a second you actually cared."

In the meantime, the crowd's anger continued to rise like an erupting volcano.

"Throw Nepgear out!"

"We don't want her!"

"We want a different CPU!"

"Yeah! Kill her!"

 _THUMP_

The crowds in front of her became irrelevant. Their angry shouts and jeers were the last thing Nepgear focused on. She placed her hand on her chest, feeling strangely cold all of a sudden. She was shivering, and she was strangely calm… unnaturally so.

 _THUMP, THUMP_

Nepgear blinked, confused. Something felt wrong, and it wasn't people wanting her dead, nor IF separating her from Magic. There was this sense of impending doom rooted within her mind, screaming at her that something was very wrong. It weren't the CFWs nearby, it wasn't her own citizens wanting her head on a pike. It was something else, something very important...

Was she always this heavy? Was her heart always beating so loud?

 _THUMP, THUMP_

"Hey, Gear! Snap out of it!" IF dragged her away, and looked at the Candidate's face. Something confused the Guild agent, but it was outside of Nepgear's interest. The CPU Candidate knew that IF was getting worried about her, but she didn't care. There was some sort of… event about to happen that is far more important.

 _THUMP, THUMP_

Nepgear's legs buckled under her weight, and IF caught her before she could fall. "Hey, hey hey! Are you alright?!" The brunette questioned, concerned and confused. She didn't understand it, Nepgear didn't understand it. There was something happening right now, and it had something to do with Nepgear. But she didn't know what.

 _THUMP, THUMP_

Her vision grew hazy and dark, her eyelids struggled to stay open. Her breath was ragged, and it was hard to draw oxygen. Every breath had to be a conscious effort, and even then it was so hard to achieve.

"IF, what is happening to Nepgear?" Histoire questioned, hovering closer. The fairy tried to appear brave, something which IF wasn't able to do. "I don't know, she just collapsed! Hey, Gear! Talk to me!" The Guild agent began shaking Nepgear once more, but it was a futile effort. The lilac-haired girl was focused on just two things: Breathing in and out, and finding out what was happening.

"Compa, call Medic here, we need his Medi-gun." The fairy ordered, but the mercenary was already here, along with the rest of the team.

Nepgear felt the healing beam on her, but that gave her no relief as she kept searching for an answer. Her body slowly shut down, but there was no pain. Nothing hurt her, like the pain receptors were shutting down as well.

 _THUMP_

Then, she heard Magic's voice, as clear as day.

"Try as you might to wipe away the red off your purple flags, the stains will remain forever."

"Oh, and Nepgear. I wouldn't be trying to summon the Deity of Sin if I wasn't sure about that."

And during her final moments, Nepgear finally reached the answer.

Her shares.

 _She didn't have enough shares to live…_

Nepgear passed out.

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Memorial**

* * *

This one is kinda short, but it gets the job done. There's an angry mob wanting Nepgear, Magic reveals her reason for resurrecting Arfoire, which isn't for deh evilz (Tell me, how many of you expected that?)

And I think we're going to Lowee soon, finally!

Also I need to tell you something. Turns out I'll have to change the plans, I was planning to do 5-6 Arcs, each for a landmass with Badlands and Gamindustri Graveyard included…

I am not going to do that.

It would take too long, so I'm not going to do that. Hell, I don't think I'll even do all CPUs here. I have about a year before I finish the school (unless I fail the year), and I'm going to try a military service after that. So I won't have time to write.

Which means I'll have to end the fic way earlier.

To be honest, at the pace I'm going now. It would take few years before I even get to the last arc of my previous vision. I was just too ambitious with it. I'll try to finish this fic, I already put too much effort into it to just drop it, then I'm gonna go through few years of the military and then…

Then I guess I'll write my own book. I already have few concepts for it.

Responses:

\- Metastable

Uhhh… but I did write few chapters with mercs wearing silly cosmetics. Chapter 14 and 21 comes to mind.

\- Caddy

I guess they would. I am proud of this project and I intend to finish it… let's see how far I'll go before I change my mind.

Harmless Orange


	33. Consequences

**Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Consequences**

* * *

They all raged, brutally, without mercy.

People were on the streets, people were shouting, people were throwing and breaking stuff.

People were rioting.

They all stood just outside of the Basilicom, screaming at Lowee's CPU who was arguing back at them. They waved their signs with hostile writing, letting her know what they thought of her. Some people were just trying to cause as much chaos as possible.

Blanc stood there, a small group of Basilicom staff and mercs to keep the mass of people away from her, and tried her hardest to disperse the crowd with words, not actions. Meanwhile, the rest of the security and mercenaries hauled the unconscious Nepgear onto the higher floors, towards the only place where it was safe.

Despite her best efforts, no matter how much she tried to placate the masses and appeal to reason, they were simply too furious to listen, swept along by the tide of emotion that surrounded them. The CPU knew what had happened to Nepgear, and that if nothing was done about it real soon, Neptune's not going to have a little sister to come back to.

Left with no other choice, Blanc played her trump card.

In the other areas of the city, things were little different, just instead of a gigantic mass of people, there were smaller groups causing trouble, led by the ASIC as they used every opportunity to strip the city bare of supplies. People were fighting other people over everything they could get their hands on, while the shopkeepers desperately tried to protect their shops from thieves and raiders. It didn't take long for emergency responders to get busy, nor to get Guild agents involved.

Within a few minutes, what was supposed to be a memorial for the deceased has turned into total chaos, and the ASIC were milking it as much as they could.

Besides leading groups of people eager to smash or steal something, the ASIC was also recruiting new members or selling Arfoire's chips, quickly making up the losses they suffered through the past two weeks. They were adding fuel to the fire by rallying up the rioting folks and _engaging_ the Guild agents in combat while their allies freed their arrested friends.

Whatever losses the ASIC has suffered in Planeptune, they would make up for that today.

...Or so they thought, until rumors of who had orchestrated the kidnapping of the Goddesses and instigated the years of chaos and decline that followed spread through the city like wildfire; rumors that came from the first freed CPU herself.

For every citizen who decided to trust in ASIC, another turned their ire towards them. The ASIC were not a suspicion-free organization afterall, and the words of a Goddess, even if wasn't their Goddess held weight; the citizens' anger may burn too hot to be quenched, but it could be redirected.

Blanc continued to declare her righteous accusations at the ones who stole away the Goddesses, at the ones who dared disguise their own insidious profit with a memorial for the dead. She now deliberately riled up her audience, resonating with them through equal fury; yet through her own long repressed anger, she felt no satisfaction in watching the once solemn service turn into a screaming brawl between the ones who trusted her and the ones who trusted ASIC, pieces of the crowd breaking off to spread their version of the word.

One way or another, Planeptune will burn today. The best she can do is make ASIC burn with it.

But despite it all, not every place in Planeptune was filled with chaos and destruction.

Demoman took a small ball, and dropped it on the spinning roulette. It spun for a while before stopping at number 3, which led to the merc moving his pawn 3 tiles to the right, and checking Pyro's king. In order to defend its king, Pyro dropped a king of spades card and moved its rook diagonally to take out Demoman's pawn.

"Ugh." Demoman groaned. He took a swig of his beer while Pyro took some of Demoman's poker chips. Then the scot dropped an ace of hearts and took Pyro's knight. He just took it without moving his own chess pieces.

It was Pyro's turn to slam the table in frustration. It spun the roulette and dropped the ball, then the Pyromaniac moved his chess piece. Demoman did the same and their game continued for a while.

You're probably getting confused what kind of game they're playing. But the truth is; no one knows. Not even these idiots.

Minutes passed by and both mercs made very questionable moves, but neither of them argued about it. They minded their own business and continued to play, oblivious and uncaring of what was going on outside.

Then their game came to a sudden end when a bunch of their teammates came back. They were shouting, mostly Medic and Histoire, and then they entered the lobby. All of them rushed past the gaming couple, not sparing them even a glance, while Heavy carried Nepgear upstairs, followed by Medic, Histoire and a few others.

* * *

Yet again Histoire found herself twiddling her thumbs, unable to do anything else.

One-point-five percent. That's how many Shares Planeptune has.

One-point-five percent.

It's amazing they even got that much, with the people out there looking ready to tear them limb from limb. And they probably would have if it wasn't for Blanc and the CFWs… The reason for them helping to hold off the crowds was lost to Histoire, but she appreciated the opportunity to transport Nepgear elsewhere. Blanc was still the MVP here of course; the fairy wasn't sure what the CPU did to stave off the crowd's hatred from Nepgear, but if it wasn't for her, the Candidate would've been dead already.

Histoire took a deep breath.

Nepgear wasn't dying. She has enough Shares to live but not to be conscious, just like Blanc but worse. Blanc afterall didn't have a mob of angry people pounding on her Basilicom's doors, and Lowee's own share crystal was fine.

Nepgear doesn't have that luxury…

What about Neptune?

Histoire froze.

 _Don't think about it. Don't think about it_. - She thought to herself, trying anything she could to prevent herself from thinking _those_ … unsafe thoughts.

At least the situation can't get worse.

"Histoire!"

The book fairy swore under her breath, realizing the mistake of tempting fate. The Oracle turned around to see Sniper staring back at her… looking out of breath. It must be important, and bad. The blonde was mentally bracing herself. "Yes, Sniper? What is it?"

"Bad news, Histoire. Very bad news."

Of course. "Has the public breached into the Basilicom?" Histoire asked, well aware of how long the doors could hold off such an assault. The mob could break through the gates any moment now- half an hour tops, and then it would be up to her security to take care of this.

"Nah." Sniper waved off. "Those blokes ran off once Engie and Heavy went in with fire hoses."

Oh. Histoire sighed in relief. Finally some good news.

"But-"

" **SAXTON HALE!** "

"Aw, piss."

Sniper rushed past his employer, and took the best hiding spot he could think of in a matter of nanoseconds. He jumped out of the window, the _closed_ window, breaking the glass and cutting himself in the process, while both of them were on the 2nd floor.

Not a moment later the CEO of Mann Co ran up the stairs, and Histoire finally saw his muscle-headed self. He had a predatory grin plastered over his face, and he looked as if he was itching for a fight. The Australian also carried a large bag over his shoulder, and Histoire didn't want to know what was in it. The smell already gave it away. Saxton locked his eyes on Histoire and his entire attitude changed; his posture relaxed and his grin turned into a polite smile. The past few seconds were gone without leaving any evidence that ever happened.

"Oh, hello tiny weird lady! Did you see Mundy comin' through here?" Saxton asked innocently. The Oracle looked back to the broken window, thinking whether it was a good idea to tell.

It's not like she could just lie to him with a broken window right next to her, the man's crazy but not daft.

"Ah, Mr. Hale! I was actually waiting for an opportunity to speak with you."

"Speak with me? And who are you? I need to check with Bidwell if you have an appointment."

"I'm Histoire, the Oracle of this city and the current employer of... what were they again? Team Fortress?"

That seemed to do the trick, with a snap of his fingers Saxton Hale forgot about chasing Sniper and gave Histoire his full attention. "Ah! You're _her_ , that lady who has been using my mercs to kill people she didn't like."

That would hurt Histoire way more if it wasn't for that matter-of-factly way Hale said it. Right now she could just sigh and admit it. "Yes, that's me Mr. Hale. And I wanted to speak with you."

"Well, we're already speaking. So congratulations." The australian shrugged and then prepared to leave, whistling a happy tune while Histoire tried to stop him.

"Mr. Hale, we aren't finished." The fairy began, but Saxton wasn't listening as he just walked towards the broken window.

"Goodbye Histoire." Were Saxton Hale's last words before jumping through the window. The Oracle tried to find him, but he was already gone.

And he left that stinking bag here!

* * *

Histoire left the bag where Hale dumped it, and descended down the stairs.

Yet again, she was met with a peculiar sight.

Demoman, Soldier and Pyro were hiding - or at least attempting to hide - while they quivered in fear. Medic and Scout were embedded into the walls, their statuses unknown as they're buried face first. The rest of the mercenaries weren't present at the scene, but Blanc was there in the middle of the room. The two females exchanged glances.

"I have absolutely no idea what I just walked into." Blanc said, looking around as if that would give her some clues.

"I don't think you would want to know." Histoire responded, removing the image from her memory. Then the Oracle hovered forward, and rubbed her cheek. "Blanc, thank you for what you did out there. Your actions have saved Nepgear- and all of Planeptune… from Share deficiency."

"Don't mention it. That bitch dared to take the holier-than-thou route and rile the folks to riot, I showed her how easily I can play the same game." Her assertive posture then fell a bit. "How's she by the way?"

"Not dead yet, thank the goddesses." Histoire answered, happy for little blessings that appeared. "But in a similar state you were, when we rescued you… I fear the day I finally get an answer to what would happen if Nepgear were to die from lack of shares while connected to the Re:Spawn System."

"Yeah, that." The CPU of Lowee answered dryly, still unaccustomed to the fact that cheating death is possible now. And of course access to such technology is in the hands of 9 maniacs, 3 of them currently shaking underneath the table. "They're still rioting on the streets, you know. Engineer and Heavy had to come out with fire hoses."

"Yes, I heard it from Sniper." Histoire nodded, her rubbing her cheek just evolved into pinching the bridge of her nose. She was afraid of asking this, but she needed to know. "How is the rest of Planeptune?"

"Bad, but not as bad as near the Basilicom." Blanc shrugged. "Everyone is still really angry, you and Nepgear are still public enemies, and the Guild have their hands full and then some keeping the peace - IF, Compa and Falcom went off to help by the way - but at least the ASIC aren't running the show anymore."

"Do you think we can fix this?"

"Not sure, look for yourself and decide." The CPU pointed her thumb at the window.

Dozens of possibilities went through Histoire's head, each and every one of them so bad that the Oracle hesitated before nearing the window. She wondered what she might find on the other side of the wall; A warzone? Remnants of the once beautiful city, now reduced to rubble as its citizens are fighting among themselves in a bloody battle royale until the last one stands? Flags of the ASIC everywhere and their forces surrounding the hotel? A riot on the streets? Her once loyal citizens now demanding hers and Nepgear's blood to atone for their crimes?

Histoire saw a fence.

"Oh." The Oracle quietly mumbled, not expecting to see _nothing_. Perhaps this was for the better though, as the sheer unexpectedness killed some of her dread. Histoire tried a different window, and this time she had a clear view on the state of the city.

A toppled car covered in flames was the first thing she noticed, and Engineer and some other person were putting out the flames with extinguishers. Just across the streets were shops with their windows broken, and a trio of Guild members arresting some ASIC goons who undoubtedly tried to loot something while the city was in chaos. Broken glass and trash covered the walkways, but Heavy was already cleaning it up.

The area surrounding the hotel didn't look so bad, but the Oracle could see the area further away.

A building exploded just now, making everyone nearby panic and duck for cover as the (fortunately small) building collapsed under its own weight, weakened by the explosion. Then the civilians either ran away or picked their phone and recorded the flames eating what was left of the building, and the people who limped out of it.

The onlookers didn't help them as they fell onto the ground, they just watched until help arrived.

Histoire didn't exactly know what kind of emotions she felt, as the emergency responders were providing first aid on the injured. A part of it was sadness, something she was pretty familiar with… but it was dull. The city she was taking care of in Neptune's stead was crumbling before her very eyes, and yet Histoire didn't feel as much grief as she had expected, and she didn't even know the reason for that.

Was it because a part of her actually expected things to end this way? With shares at less than 1%, the nation will simply crumble and be reduced to rubble. Was it because her concern was mostly directed towards Nepgear, so she didn't care as much about the people who put her in this situation?

Was it because she changed?

"If you think that's bad just wait until you see the Basilicom area." Blanc said, moving to Histoire's side and watching the destruction from the safety of their window. "People are mad, and despite what I said, the ASIC is still thriving. We need to do something."

But what? What could they do to sway the public's opinion? If it was so easy then the ASIC would've won a long time ago, or Histoire wouldn't have needed to send IF and Compa into the Gamindustri Graveyard with a Sharicite strong enough to revive a CPU. Nothing short of a miracle would save them. The ASIC would have to do something momentuously stupid for the public to get their faith back into Nepgear.

This decision didn't come to her easily, but perhaps this would be the best move for now.

"You need to go to Lowee."

"Huh?!"

Blanc straight up recoiled from shock, staring at Histoire with wide eyes. The Oracle turned her head towards the CPU, her face passive.

"Take Nepgear, take the mercs, and go to Lowee. Keep Nepgear safe there and collect Shares."

It would be a long time before the people of Planeptune ever entertain the idea of putting their faith in the authorities again, at the very least not until Neptune herself comes back. They need to search somewhere else, somewhere where the public didn't know or didn't care about the situation here.

Somewhere like the cold territories of Lowee.

"Have you gone nuts, Histoire? Why the hell should I - no, wait. Why the hell would you send the mercs and friggin' Nepgear with me?!" Blanc shouted. But Histoire didn't react at all, instead she simply replied.

"Nepgear isn't safe here, and we need to find the Mascot of Lowee before the ASIC destroys it. And if we're lucky, we could get another 'challenge' from the CFWs, and get one more CPU back. I know we lead competing nations, but right now I don't have a choice." It was a long shot, but Histoire saw no better moves. If they can raise Nepgear's Shares in Lowee, then they will have a plan B in case the rest of the citizens of Planeptune turn their back on her.

Blanc scoffed, turning her head away from the Oracle. "Then what about you? What about Planeptune? Your people are goddamn _rioting_ out there!"

"I'll do my best to mitigate the damage we suffered today." Histoire actually has some ideas how to do that, hopefully the riots will die down after some time. "And in case I need help, I can ask Engineer to set up a teleporter between the nations, allowing us to transport people and good instantaneous."

The CPU of Lowee considered it. Planeptune is on the brink of collapse, it's not safe for Nepgear to remain even if she wasn't comatose, and Blanc herself would have to return to her own nation sooner or later. There was no reason not to take Nepgear and her mercenaries with her.

And with the mercs's teleportation technology…

"Those bastards will kill our transport industry, I guarantee you." Blanc commented with a smirk and a shake of her head before sighing. "Fine, I'll tell Mina to prepare our ship for tomorrow. Also- who the hell was that bare-chested guy earlier?"

"Oh. That would be Mr. Saxton Hale."

"Aaaaaaah!"

Hearing this name leave Histoire's lips, Soldier, Demoman and Pyro screamed in fright and… Histoire could only describe it as them trying to put some distance between them and the Oracle, and failing horribly. Blanc saw their reaction and just didn't know what to say, a common theme when it came to these maniacs, she found.

"Seriously, what's wrong with them?" The CPU questioned, while Soldier sucked his thumb, and Pyro and Demoman hugged each other for dear life. All the of them were quivering in fear while Histoire simply rolled her eyes.

"Oh, just the usual mercenary shenanigans. You'll get used to it."

* * *

"Do you believe me now?"

"...With the evidence you've shown us, it's hard not to."

Even so, it was still hard to believe, but Kei Jinguji can't refute the hard evidence around her. It would be so much easier to just say that those robots in Lastation were some kind of new robotic type of monster that were just a byproduct of Noire's absence. If that was the truth, then Kei could just discuss those robots with the Guild, develop appropriate countermeasures, and move onto her next project.

Unfortunately the truth was stranger than fiction, and that truth just had to be that they're a part of the robotic army of the man in front of her. A man from a different world and Kei was actually standing in that different world. She, Uni, and that girl Nisa could see and touch the alien civilization that was unknown to them until today, not just a single nation _but an entire planet_.

Could you imagine the headache the politics would take if this became common knowledge to Gamindustri?

The Oracle of Lastation looked outside of the window. She saw a city that was unfamiliar to her, brands she never heard of, the lack of a Guild patrolling the streets and buildings spanning across the entire horizon. The people here were more primitive and yet… at the same time not. They still used fossil fuels but at the same time had teleportation devices, their communication devices and computers were oversized and unhandy but they also had functional robots, laser weapons and life extending machines.

Goodness, the man in front of her claims to be over 150 years old. It didn't help that he looked and sounded the part while also having this strange machine strapped to his back.

Nisa turned her gaze away from the window and onto the Mann sitting by the table. "What is this city called?"

"It's Mannhattan, in New York, east coast of the United States of America."

"It's… big. As big as Lastation." Uni commented in awe. Her mind was unable to comprehend the idea of a CPU managing such a gigantic nation. This 'America' had more cities as big as this one, if not bigger. The CPU here must have tons of shares.

"It is, after all, one of America's major cities. Although it doesn't hold a candle to what Australia has." Gray Mann politely responded, freaking out Uni even more by the news of a nation _even bigger_ than this. "Going back to our discussion earlier, I must inform you that I have recalled my robots who were lost in your lands. That was… a mistake on my part, which I apologize for."

"People died because of them." Kei deadpanned. The Oracle was the only person from Gamindustri who kept her composure, despite the fact that deep down, she was very concerned.

"Which I am sorry for. No one could've predicted that my forces would land in a nation that wasn't on Earth. Attacking your nation wasn't my intention."

"I… can understand that. Indeed a scenario like this one would be very unlikely." Nisa nodded to herself.

"Yes." And Kei nodded in agreement. "But we do ask for compensation for the lives lost."

"That's understandable, I'll see what I can do. But if I may, do you recognize any of these people?" Gray Mann pulled out a set of pictures from his pocket, and set them out on a table. Each of them showed a different person, and while most of them wore red colors, there were a couple who didn't. Kei was confused why he showed them this, but she did recognize one of those people.

The Medic.

"And who might they be?" Kei cautiously asked, trying her hardest to not show anything that might betray her hand.

"Those people here are pawns of the woman I'm waging war against. I believe they're doing something in your world. Either in Lastation or anywhere else. Any of them is bad news to you."

"And why exactly, do you think that way?" Kei raised her eyebrow. She knew one of them was in Planeptune and knew Histoire. But how much could she milk from this? Gray Mann's eyes turned cold and a frown settled across his face. It was perhaps the most chilling stare Kei saw in her life.

"This Woman - Helen, or the Administrator - she's planning something big. I can't say I know, but she was manipulating this entire world, their leaders, corporations and masses of people from the shadows. She and him." He tapped a picture of a muscular man. "Put two of my brothers, very powerful brothers, against themselves in an endless and pointless war, all to further her own goals. If she were to succeed, I believe all of us would pay the price. And now that she knows about your world..."

"...Then that puts us in the potential danger as well, is this what you wanted to say?" Kei finished for him, receiving a nod from the old man. That made Kei think; All she had was his word, no evidence nor counter evidence, just his testimony. She didn't know enough to act, and Medic saved Uni while Gray Mann harmed Lastation with his robots. The other Gamindustri natives present however seemed to know more than her.

Nisa stepped towards the table, her eyes wide. The heroine took a picture of a man with a red suit and balaclava. She stared at his face for a few seconds, her teeth gritting and her fist clenched, before she growled. "Those damn murderers."

"You've met them?" Gray Mann asked, and Kei eagerly listened to what Nisa would say about those people, because that 'murderers' part got her attention.

Nisa took a deep breath to calm herself and then placed the picture back on the table. "Yes, all 9 of them. Those two I don't know however." She pointed at the dark-haired woman and the muscular man, the old man nodded and asked the heroine more questions. Kei wanted to know what Nisa knew, but Uni whispered in her ear.

"Kei, can we talk in private? It's important."

Gray Mann politely interrupted Nisa and looked at the Oracle of Lastation. "If you want, you may talk outside."

With their host's approval, Kei and Uni excused themselves and left the room while Nisa continued to talk what she knew about the apparent mercenaries shown on the pictures. The hallway was empty, but Kei and Uni still checked the corridors for possible eavesdroppers. Only when the coast was clear did Uni outright growl at Kei in anger.

"Kei, that muscular man. That's _him_ , the one who dropped that building on me."

The Oracle's eyes briefly widened before shifting into a frown. "Are you sure?"

"Positive. I can still feel that duct tape in me..." The CPU Candidate mumbled, memories of her… experience back at the hospital flooding back to her, which then brought another thing. "One of them was that doctor who treated me, right? What should we do?" Uni crossed her arms.

"The Medic, right." Kei's expression hardened, questions about Histoire's affiliations with that man cropping up in her head. Nisa called them mercenaries just before they left, and there were 9 of them. Weren't there reports of a mysterious group of people working closely to the Planeptunian CPU Candidate? And the reports of ASIC being killed in masses… and the rumors.

Kei's poker face mask was completely shattered in that moment. Realization hit her hard and all Kei could say was "Oh."

"Kei?" The black-haired Candidate asked.

"I just realized something very disturbing, but that's for later." The Oracle sweatdropped. "I think we should see what Gray Mann has to offer. We have his last known location, see where we could go with it."

"Milk him for as much as possible?" Uni raised her brow.

"Yes." Kei nodded. "Are you ready to go back?"

"Yes, let's go."

When they entered, Nisa was sitting in front of Gray Mann. The way Nisa spoke to the old man tipped Kei of a personal vendetta between her and the red-clad group of people. Gray Mann gave them a brief glance to acknowledge their entry before shifting his attention back to the blue-haired girl.

"-They hold no regards for lives, even their own. Those death merchants killed just as easily as they breathe, taking lives of the ASIC by the dozens. During our last mission together, before I left, Spy went out of his way to murder the men we already subdued, just _because_."

"I see. And all 9 of them were hired by… Histoire, back in Planeptune. Correct?"

"Yes. She said she couldn't let those people fall into ASIC hands, that without them they stand no chance against the ASIC." Nisa's shoulders dropped. "I saw her point, actually. While I couldn't just stand still and watch this injustice happen in front of my eyes, I also didn't want to go against Nepgear."

Kei was taken back by how this girl just confirmed what she realized just seconds ago, while Uni was kinda confused. "Umm, who were you talking about?"

"These men." Gray Mann pushed the pictures of mercenaries towards Uni. "Miss Nisa just said that those mercenaries were under Histoire's employment."

"And they 'kill as easily as they breathe' and 'hold no regards for lives'?"

Nisa took a deep breath. "Yes, that's them."

"I heard rumors about ASIC being mass murdered in Planeptune, but I just didn't want to believe it was Histoire." Kei added her own two cents, before she cleared her throat. "Mr. Mann. I think we might know where… _this_ person is." Kei grabbed the picture of Saxton Hale and showed it to him. "But we want you to scratch our back as well." The corners of her mouth turned upwards, while Nisa just looked at the Oracle with disbelief, like she didn't know that it was important for a good business to not give away their stock for free.

The CEO nodded and motioned to the chairs in front of him. "I see. Then how about we get started on the details of our partnership?"

* * *

 **Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract**

 **Consequences**

* * *

Aha! You were all BAMBOOZLED! Nepgear DIDN'T die due to the share deprivation! The question what would happen to Nepgear if her shares drop to 0 remains unanswered! How do you like that?

You know, this chapter had the same problem as the "Change in Force" and I hate it. I couldn't skip it and just move onto Lowee, because I needed to make that Histoire x Blanc talk, but I also couldn't just write that scene and send it to you. So up until the last scene I had to improvise and the last scene was there only because I still didn't break the 3k word minimum I set myself.

So yeah, this chapter is entirely there just to make that goddamn "You need to go to Lowee." line out of the window. Gray Mann talking with Lastation girls was just a bonus I planned to do a bit later. But I guess placing it here is good too.

Fortunately for the next chapter I can finally play with snow.

Responses:

\- kerrowe

I like to think that Soldier is on his best behavior during the funerals and events like these. Actually behaving better than most of the mercenaries. I mean he… he was shown how to pay respects, right?

\- YORCHspartan117

Well I'm glad I proved you wrong. I always liked the isekai genre (character x being sent to another world), and the idea of putting 9 bloodthirsty mercenaries in Gamindustri was born during my usual ride to school, where I imagined a scene with mercs and Neptunia girls fighting Gray's robots. Sooo uh… showerthoughts for the win?

I kinda agree with what you said about the info dump. The first few chapters I wrote when I was inexperienced, and didn't know how to pace the info yet (ahem, Chapter 1 for example). And I couldn't fix this when I was rewriting the chapter 1, because I would have to rewrite the whole beginning or even more. I mean, I could do it if I already didn't publish 31 other chapters as well. Right now I think it's too late to make any drastic changes on the past chapters.

But Falcom arc was a necessity and everyone was getting tired of it (including me), so I had to rush through it.

As for the shortening the length of this fanfic. Let's say my original idea would take 120 chapters to write, but with my shorter fic I'll simply end it on the chapter 60 out of those 120. What I'll do is basically end it earlier than I intended, which is basically the best solution I have on hand. If I rushed through the arcs then all we would get was a shitty chapter after shitty chapter. Which I don't want.

I also don't want to just cancel it mid-way. Which is even worse.

So instead, I'll just prepare the story to end somewhere earlier than I intended, and I even have a rough idea on how and where I'll end this.

Oh, and by the way. Saxton Hale was foreshadowed in "Practicing Medicine", so I can safely say I didn't just pull him out of my ass. How Hale and Pauling got there however will be explained later.

\- Metastable

Uhh… hat-related events, huh? I'll have to think on that. I'm pretty sure I had something but I didn't have an opportunity. I make no promises though.

\- Guest #1

Take a chill pill.

\- Smashgunner

Yes, Nepgear is in trouble. Thank you for stating that.

\- Guest #2

...Are you the same guy as Guest #1?

\- FourElemental

Welp, sorry for making it a little better.

\- DatMeeM (Chapter 17-18, 30)

You're the 1st one to catch on that little hint with Pyro. Congratulations.

And in my defense, I'm Polish so English isn't my 1st language.

And also, Samuel isn't me. He is not my self-insert. Me planting myself into the story will come later… much later. You guys won't expect it.

\- Harmless Orange


End file.
